Diplomarbeit

DIPLOMARBEIT

Titel der Diplomarbeit The Motivation for People visiting a Club

Verfasserin Franziska Huck

angestrebter akademischer Grad Magistra der Philosophie (Mag.phil.)

Wien, 2012

Studienkennzahl lt. Studienblatt: A 307 Studienrichtung lt. Studienblatt: Kultur-und Sozialanthropologie Betreuer: Dr. Tapio Nisula

CONTENTS

1. Introduction 5 1.1 Research interest 5 1.2 Substantive Limitation, Temporal Limitation and Spacial Limitation 5

1.3 Research questions 6 1.4 Preview of the structure 6

2. Methods 8 2.1 Gaining an insight of the field site by using the participant observation 9 2.2 The given problems in the fieldwork 10 2.3 The overt and covert role when carrying out observations 11 2.4 Measures taken in order to be integrated in the Club atmosphere 12 2.5 Gender aspect when carrying out participant observation, conversations and interviews at the Club Scenes 13 2.6 Interviews 15 2.6.1 Setting of the Interviews 16 2.6.2 Defining the roles throughout the Interview 17 2.6.3 Creating a specific atmosphere during the Interview 17 2.7 The role of the field diary within the research 19 2.8 The categories that have been built throughout the research process 20 2.9 Analysis of the data 21

3. Desription of the Fieldsite 21 3.1 The Domus Club 23 3.1.1 In front of the Domus Club 23 3.1.2 Entering in the Domus Club 24 3.1.3 The communication between the Club members at the Domus Club 25 3.1.4 Searching for sensation at the Domus Club 27 3.1.5 The function of the stand-up tables within the Domus Club 29 3.1.6 Hierarchy structures of the visitors of the Domus Club 29 3.1.7 The restroom at the Domus Club 30 3.1.8 Strategies used by the bouncers at the Domus Club 31

3.2 The Mocats Club 31 3.2.1 The importance of the cloakroom at the Mocats Club 31 3.2.2 The non-smoking area within the Mocats Club 32 3.2.3 The smoking area in the Mocats Club 33 3.2.4 Hierarchy structure of the vistors in respect to the tables and places 35 3.2.5 Searching for sensation at the Mocats Club 35 3.2.6 The restroom at the Mocats Club 36

3.3 The Slide Club 37 3.3.1 In front of the Slide Club 37 3.3.2 Gaining an insight of the Slide Club 39 3.3.4 The importance of the physical appearance at the Slide Club 41 3.3.5 The atmosphere at the Slide Club 42 3.3.6 The influence of the music on the behaviour of the vistors 43

3.4 Summary of the three Clubs 44

3.5 The Interviewees 48 3.5.1 Informants from the Domus Club 48 3.5.2 Informants from the Mocats Club 50 3.5.3 Informants from the Slide Club 52

4. Presentation and Analysis of the Data 53 4.1 The function of the restroom in the Club Scenes 53 4.2 Moment -centered behaviour 68 4.3Approaches set by men towards women 79 4.4 The Club functions as a place in order to be heard by others 92 4.5 Attending the Club in a group 100 4.6 What is the meaning of the club 104

5. Discussion on Findings with Referene to Recent Literature 107 5.1 Grazian's Theory about “the hustle of the urban nightlife“ 107 5.2 Silvia Rief’s perspective on “Club Cultures Boundaries, Identities and Otherness“ 112 5.3 Summary of Grazian´s and Rief´s views respect to my findings 115

6. Conclusion 117 Literature 122 Appendix 124

1.Introduction 1.1 Research interest In the work presented hereafter I will examine in detail and present my observations on the Viennese club scenes. Through becoming a regular participant at the club scene, I came to a certain conclusion: life in clubs utterly differs from the everyday life. To some extend club life can be identified as an underground world, operating on its own. It was interesting to find out why so many young people feel attracted to the club scene. For me it was challenging and very intriguing to observe how visitors in clubs behave and interact from the moment they step into the club scene. 1

One of the reasons I decided to investigate the Viennese club scenes was my intention to prove and elaborate on the issue that club life has a parallel existence to routine everyday life. Within this parallel existing world people might behave in a specific manner or play a role, create an image that differ from the daily-life image they usually show outside the underworld. I believe that it is important to investigate clubs and throw some light on the life that is going on there; out of sight, a bit obscure and most certainly significant for so many people. Another purpose of the research was to disclose the whole atmosphere at the club scene and investigate whether there are any special rules and behaviour patterns characteristic for the life that bursts out at night.

1.2 Substantive Limitation,Temporal Limitation and Spacial Limitation The target of the research project is to investigate two Viennese students’ club scenes – the Domus Club and the Mocats Club. The third club I have investigated is the Slide Club which differs rather dramatically from the student club scenes – at the Slide Club visitors tend to follow certain regulations, dress codes and fashion demands. The reason I chose to investigate those three club scenes is because they are relatively small in size and it are easier to be observed as a part of the scene. I did not wish to investigate techno club scenes or alternative club scenes as they are much too different as the three clubs chosen for the aims of this research. I believe that if one reduces the clubs to three, it is easier to achieve a better and more precise overview of the on-going situations. If a greater amount of club scenes is investigated, there might be difficulties related to the integration of the field researcher in the scene and as it turned out integration within the club was vitally important for the success of my research. Besides, integration secures a thorough and deep investigation.

1 literature clubs:Grazian David(2008),Jackson Phil(2004), Rief Silvia (2009),Sanders Bill(2006), Thornton Sarah(1995) 5

My opinion is that only devoted integration into the club scene can provide a full understanding of young people’s lifestyle. I basically want to see if people at those three club scenes follow a similar behaviour pattern or if there are some differences to be disclosed. The research will also cover people who might be likely to visit more than one club scene. I will focus mainly on people aged twenty to twenty-five. The main target groups are young people who either study or work. However, I will also add the perspectives of older participants because it is interesting to see the issues from all possible angles and to present different views. The observations and interviews in the club scenes were carried out from November 2011-February 2012.

1.3 Research questions The central research question of my thesis is: Why are the club scenes seen as such an attraction point by young people? Now I am going to take a look at the formed sub questions. Question 1: Why is the restroom perceived by many females as an attraction point? Question 2: Does the club function as a place where one can drift into a different reality? Question 3: How do male participants approach females at the club scenes? Question 4: Does the club function as a place where one can be heard by others? Question 5: What experience can people attending the club scene in a certain group share? Question 6: Is the club scene a place where hierarchy can be observed?

1.4 Preview of the structure In the second part I am going to give an insight on the methods I have used. The methods applied in the research project are: the participant observation, in terms of the overt and covert observation. The participant observation has given the opportunity to get familiar with the whole field setting. The covert observation was applied when I wanted to investigate how males approach females. In many cases I did not wish to influence the atmosphere by using the open observation. A further point that is going to be discussed in that part is what measurements were applied for the purpose of being integrated in the club atmosphere. In order to be integrated in the club scenes I adapted my physical appearance to the members. I decided to wear sporty close in the student clubs whereas in the posh club I wore quite heavy make-up and high heels. These were measurements in order to be perceived as part of the club scene. I behaved to a certain extent as the other visitors of the club, meaning that I was taking my rounds through the club, dancing and chatting with others. Especially in the restroom I

adapted my behaviour to the other female participants. Here I fixed my dress ,and brushed my hair in front of the mirror.

Furthermore, my role as a female in the field will be discussed in that part, meaning the influence of my gender with regards to the findings in the club. For example, the gender aspect was beneficial while I was carrying out my observations at the restrooms, where females fell free to speak openly. I am also going to present an insight on how the roles in the interviews were defined. I wanted to give the participants the opportunity to show different aspects of their personality. A crucial aspect that I am going to cover in that chapter is the settings which I had chosen for the purpose of taking interviews. Taking of interviews requires sustaining a natural, relaxed atmosphere, where the participants would feel free to speak.

In addition, the role of field-diary in this research process is discussed. The field- diary has been helpful in order to establish contacts with participants at the field. Within that part I will also concentrate on the categories that have been formed through open directed questions. The observations carried out were analysed by an open coding. The semi- structured interviews, unstructured interviews and conversations were analysed by the zusammenfassende Inhaltsanalyse by Philipp Mayring.

In the third part I am going to present a detailed description of the field site. The general physical setting of the club is described including: lights, music and interior. Within that part observations at the different scenes will be presented. The description of the field site enables attaining a better understanding of the occurrences taking place at the scene. I shall also provide an insight on the general atmosphere in front of the clubs along with the spirit of the actual place from within. Moreover, the position and power of authority of the bouncers will be investigated and elaborated on. Observations have led to certain conclusions and have revealed the mechanism they make use or misuse that power. The hierarchy created and well settled within the clubs will be investigated in detail, too.

Hierarchy is either artificially established through fashion standards and dress codes and regulations adopted by the club or trough special attention paid to groups at the reserved tables. Within that part I will also try to investigate what impact the music has on the behaviour of the guests. In addition, I will focus on the catch-pennies used by males in their attempts to attract and impress females. The function and significance of the stand-up tables as

a tool when a man approaches a woman will be subjected to discussion, too. In the third part I am going to introduce my interviewees, and give a short insight on their gender and occupation.

In the fourth part the data obtained through conversations, semi- structured and unstructured interviews will be analysed in detail. It is crucial to understand the function of the restrooms from a female life perspective. Another topic to be covered is neglecting, ignore and crossing over physical barriers between strangers at the club scenes. The term “living for the moment” is quite relevant to the discussed issue. The term living for the moment means that members of the club scene behave at the spur of the moment as they live up their sexual desires with a stranger, the next moment is not taken in account.

In addition, another question of detailed observation will be if the club scenes operate as places where one can speak up his heart and be heard by other people. The last point that I am going to cover is the experience of people who visit the clubs in a certain group.

In the fifth part I will discuss my findings in reference to recent literature. I am going to investigate if Grazian’s findings are similar to mine and if there are conflicting ideas and conclusions. The focus of the issue is the myth of the pick-ups. I will try to question, prove right or wrong, true or false the existence of the so-called pick-up myth. The second book that it is going to be discussed on is “Club Cultures, Boundaries, Identities, and Otherness” written by Silvia Rief. An aspect that is covered in her theory is that participants are afraid of losing control when being too deeply integrated into the club scene (Rief 2009:112). In the last part I will give a short summary of my findings and a concise answer to each research question. Last but not least, I will present my answer to the main research question.

2. Methods The methods I have used for the purposes of my research are based on the participant observation – such as: overt and covert observations, semi-structured, unstructured interviews and conversations. I have tried to identify the phenomena of clubs considered to be an attraction point for many young people and observe the issue from different perspectives. I have also decided to analyse the data, obtained through the semi- structured interviews and conversations with the zusammenfassende Inhaltsanalyse by Philipp Mayring. The

zusammenfassende Inhaltsanalyse is focused mainly on the content of the data and is reduced it to a manageable corpus, where the main content of the information is sustained (Mayring 2000:472). Through that process of analysis I was given the opportunity to understand the deeper meaning of certain subject issues that stayed covered during the interviews and conversations. The zuammenfassende Inhaltsanalyse turned out to be an important tool for obtaining a further understanding of the participants’ lifestyle.

2.1 Gaining an insight of the field site by using the participant observation When I started the field research the first approach to reach an insight of the field was based on the participant observation. The goal of the participant observation was to get an impression of how people behave within the club atmosphere and how they try to establish a contact with each other. Furthermore, other questions evolved through the process of the participant observation. It was important to find out if there was any sign of recognizable behaviour shift when the participants started attending in the club scenes for the first time? Is the club used as a place, where participants wish to express themselves and play a different role, quite detached from the everyday life self-expression?

The participant observation has given me the opportunity to get familiar with the whole club setting: the bouncers, the DJs and the different groups of people in that setting. The observations were carried out mostly in front of the clubs, the cloakrooms, and the dance floors, at stand-up tables, the bars, the sofas and restrooms. I used to always carry a small field-diary with me so as to write down important, insightful situations I came across throughout the evening. Hence, on many occasions I had to withdraw to the restroom in order to take more detailed notes. The field-diary was hidden while I was standing in the lines of the Slider clubs. One of my decisions was to observe specific going-on situations. It was interesting to observe the visitors that were not allowed in and how the bouncers acted from the position of the power. The observations that were carried out in front of the clubs were utterly perceptive since they came to clearly prove that specific dress code and hierarchy are imposed and followed. It is necessary to provide an overview of the club atmosphere in order to understand the whole concept of the setting. The participant observation has made it possible for me to drift into a world that was not familiar to me. I came to know completely new aspects of club life. It seemed to me as if I was investigating a certain kind of sub-culture, completely differed from the routine life and the everyday life I used to know.

The observation part was a major tool during the research processes. I had the possibility to observe certain situations in the field without asking any specific informant .In some situations it might be difficult to completely rely on the information that informants are willing to manifest as O´Reilly exemplifies (O´Reilly 2005:106). I managed to come to my own understanding about the rules and norms imposed and followed within the field, object to this investigation (O´Reilly 2005:106). There were situations where it was more than obvious that one could not really take for granted the information which informants were ready to share. Observations have shown that the content of the shared information does not necessarily fit to the participant’s actions. For instance, a female who I interviewed claimed that the male participants in the students‘ club were terrible but later in the evening she started kissing one of them. The female’s actions at the club scene had nothing to do with her statement during the in interview. This is a clear and quite distinct example which comes to prove that contents of the interviews have to be carefully investigated and considered with certain doubt and not taken for granted, since the respondent might act in a completely different manner than stated.

2.2 The given problems in the fieldwork Before starting the research I was worried I might find myself in a position of an outsider at the club scenes, since I used to visit the clubs on my own and there was no group I could join. As I started absorbing and getting used to the club atmosphere, the position of an outsider changed I was successfully and completely integrated into the groups. My experience throughout the performance of the participant observation comes to verify that becoming a part of the club can only be achieved through openness and the right approach to the participants. At the beginning of the field research it was difficult for me to set a clear focus I was not sure whether it would be better to concentrate on a high amount of club members or on specific groups and individuals only. The field data turned out to be more insightful as I started paying attention to smaller groups of people and selected explicit situations within the club. It was more enlightening to accompany certain participants throughout the whole evening, or even over a longer period of time. Down to the fact that I accompanied certain participants, I snatched the opportunity to get acquainted with their values, ideas, perceptions, problems, experience and concerns in life. This made it possible for me to get a detailed overview on their morals and standards and lifestyle. A further crucial aspect is that my data turned out to be slightly unproportional when it comes to gender. I am aware of the problem that it is not quite balanced, and that there were more males interviewed than females. Even

though there were less females interviewed than males the chance was given to attain a detail insight about their perspectives in regard to certain subject matters.

2.3 The overt and covert role when carrying out observations Within the field of research I was working on, I needed to change my role as a researcher I had to perform either observation in an overt or in a covert way. The method of observation I would decide to use was always dependent on the situations I was to observe. At the beginning of the research, observations were carried out mainly on an overt basis. The overt observations, however, caused some difficulties, since many visitors were likely to change their usual behaviour and stopped sharing as soon as they found out that they were an object of an observation. The reactions varied: some of the participants responded in defense, others felt honoured to be observed and interviewed.

Due to certain ethical issues, such as intruding upon privacy, participants of the club scenes were informed that an observation was being carried out. Whenever I decided on overt observation, I explained to the participants the purpose of the research and informed them would happen to the information they would kindly choose to offer (O´Reilly 2005: 86).

There were situations which required the covert research as I did not want to have any influence on the behaviour pattern of the participants. I would normally go for the covert research when I did not want to run the risk of destroying the atmosphere within the club. My concerns were that the relaxed atmosphere within the club would change and obtain a rigid pattern. Here it was crucial to find out how the participants behaved and interacted with each other in the club surrounding, without being disturbed by my presence. Within the covert research the researchers does not inform the participants on their real intensions (O´Reilly 2005: 87). I decided to choose the covert observation because the behaviour pattern of the participants was not disturbed or altered by my presence (Atteslander 2006:83). I sometimes used the covert observations in the restrooms in order to investigate the behaviour structure of the female guests since the bathroom often gives a clear indication of why the club is considered to be an attraction point. Here I would like to give a short insight on a situation I witnessed in the restroom:

There were two girls standing in front of the bathroom mirror, fixing their make-up. One of them was wearing a beige and black dress (blond hair), her friend had brown hair and was wearing tight, red trousers. The girl in the red trousers was fixing her hair and 11

putting some make up on while talking to her friend: “Weißt du was wirklich gut bei dem Club ist du kennst einfach die Musik die hier gespielt wird du kannst echt in jedem Zustand hier tanzen. Aja der Chris ist heute da der Fotograf er ist echt lustig. Ich kenne ihn seit dem ich im U4 Club gearbeitet habe.” The girl with the blond hair while looking in the mirror stated: “Ah ich meine schaue dir das Rouge an was ist das bitte? “ As they were powdering the rouge on their faces they were not satisfied with the results (From the field diary/ Location: Domus Club November 2011)

During the covert observation I did not reveal my position as a researcher as I wanted to be integrated in the whole club atmosphere. In this case it was very important for me to be treated as a part of the club atmosphere in order to find out what conversations and approaches men use in order to establish a contact with women. The covert research was mainly used with male participants at the club scene. I continually took part as a female visitor in order to gain an insight on male-female approach. I made use of my position as a “prey” in order to investigate how women are being involved by men in clubs. The interviews carried out with the male participants would not have been helpful enough for assessing the steps and actions men use, if they want to impress a woman. My aim was to get to know the thinking and behaviour structure of the visitors within the club scene and to get an impression why the club scene is the focal attraction point. In many cases when male visitors of the clubs were informed that a field research was being carried out, they were not willing to speak anymore. This gave me the idea to sometimes use covert observations.

2.4 Measures taken in order to be integrated in the Club atmosphere In order to be better integrated in the club atmosphere, I managed to adapt to the behaviour pattern, typical for club. For example, I made a practical use of the specific behaviour patterns when visiting the restrooms. I tried to behave and act in a similar manner as the other females: putting on some make up, brushing my hair, posing in front of the mirror, borrowing my brush to others, holding the drinks for girls that had to visit the toilet, and sitting on the sofas to rest my feet. These were important steps to set up a starting point for future interviews. The only difference between me and the participants was that I would often sit with a small field diary, taking notes. However, the field diary was helpful, too in getting in touch with the other girls. The female visitors of the club thought of me as some sort of a therapist and soon started sharing with me some insight on their private world. The topics we often talked about where lovesickness, broken hearts, previous relationships and the difficulties in finding the appropriate partner.

Later I adapted my physical appearance in accordance to the club scenes. This would secure an easier contact with the other participants. The fashion outfits I used for the occasions were essential for establishing a closer relationship with the participants of any club scene. The change in the appearance made it easier for me to be better recognized and accepted into the group. When visiting students clubs I always wore jeans, sneakers and a sporty shirt. That kind of clothing is part of the club atmosphere and it is of great importance to fit in physically and be a part of it. However, when visiting posh clubs I would go for high heels, tight jeans and make-up. Going to a posh club needs consideration of the latest fashion standards or otherwise the face-control would be hostile and would not allow access. Fashion turns out to be the so-called entrance ticket and an essential element of fitting into the club atmosphere. On many occasions people were denied access to the club if the bouncers disagreed on their clothing. However, while trying to fit into the club, I tried to keep my distance and not to be completely drawn into the whole club atmosphere. My aim was to be integrated to a great extend into the club scene and to act and behave to some extent as the participants. However, on quite a few occasions I had to build a barrier against certain participants so as to keep my objective point of view.I tried to find my balance – to stay adapted to the behaviour of the participants, to the groups and the club atmosphere and at the same time stay focused on their perceptions from a distant point of view. I tried to establish a borderline towards male participants in the club scene, by keeping a sense of physical distance to them. As they tried to touch me or started grabbing my hands or hips, I didn´t react to it and continued with the conversations and interviews. Another aspect was that I tried not to keep up as much eye contact with the male interviewees. This has been a crucial step in order to show that physical borderlines can´t be over crossed.

2.5 Gender aspect when carrying out participant observation, conversations and interviews at the Club Scenes What became quite clear with the beginning of my research was the impact of my gender and its influence on other people’s estimation. The data collected during the research in the clubs was very much due to the influence of my gender. Moreover, it is matter of fact that the gender of the researcher is often essential for the output of the research and the experience of the researcher (Silverman 2006:84). It is stated that the gender of the researcher often provides the chance of a privileged access (Silverman 2006:84). Through the process of my field work I noticed that due to my female gender I was often given a privileged access to the views of the male visitors in the club. The privileged access was given to me because the male participants

regarded me as a potential partner for a longer relationship or a flirt partner for one night. I could sense some shade of expectation while talking to the male participants. Even though the gender aspect secured a privileged access for me, I also sensed some guilt and I sometimes worried whether it was really justified to gain information easily because of my gender. I also felt some concerns that I might be using the male participants for information or I might be exploiting their honesty when sharing with me things people do not usually share.

On the other hand, I often experienced the feeling of being looked on as a prey and therefore men tried to cross physical barriers because it was difficult to be regarded as a neutral person and act neutrally, too. Later, in some particular situations, I decided to carry out a covert observation and I was given the chance to explore how men approach women at the club scenes. I experienced at first-hand what it was to feel like a prey. I could get a closer look and develop my personal experience on the way men try to cross physical barriers. My gender further facilitated my access to the views of the female visitors of the club. It secured an easy access to the restrooms. Male researchers would never get in there. On the other hand I noticed that I was regarded by the female participants as a friend who was ready to listen to their concerns and acted and behaved in a similar manner, like one of them. The female guests easily shared their insight, their ideas, and values and freely demonstrated a certain behaviour pattern as they took me for somebody who shared similar values. However, the gender aspect was strongly recognized and had a huge impact at the main dance floor. During my observations there I came to realize it would be relatively difficult to find female informants. It was hardly likely to find female informants at the dance floor, I often experienced the feeling of exclusion, whereas males were willing to speak. If one intends to obtain information from the female visitors of the club, the sofas and the restrooms are the best places to do so. I could not help noticing that that the females tended to opened up most at the restrooms and that was a place to share patterns of their values and inner world and experience and be straightforward and honest.

There is a kind of paradox situation given in regard to the restrooms on one hand my gender made it possible to gain entrance to the restroom of the females. Observations have shown the significance of the restroom in the life’s of the females. However on the other hand my gender closed me from the restroom of the males. I didn´t have the chance to investigate specific situations in the males restroom due to my gender, it would have been interesting to investigate it. 14

2.6 Interviews In many cases the participant observation served as a key to start conversations and interviews with the guests of the club. During my research I decided to use open conversations, unstructured and semi-structured interview styles (O ´Reilly 2005: 116).In many situations I decided to carry out covert interviews. Experiences displayed that many males were not willing to reveal information’s, as they realized that interviews were carried out.

While holding an open conversation, there is no border between the so-called “observed“ and the observers. I carried out the semi-structured interviews most often in the restrooms or in extra quite rooms found in the Club. In those occasions I was fully aware of the fact that the participants had enough time to elaborate on the discussed questions. In some situations I spontaneously made use of the unstructured interview style. These spontaneous situations and interviews would occur most often at the dance floor where participants would go for a quick chat or simply start a conversation. Through the actual research process I never chose the interview partners as they were always the ones to make the first step in the communication process. The conversations quite naturally developed into interviews at some later point.

The positive aspect of the unstructured interview is that it is more free-flowing than for instance the structured interview and is rather similar to a spontaneous conversation (O´Reilly 2005:116). Within the club surrounding the unstructured interview was suitable as it created an atmosphere of openness and was not that strict to follow and not in any sense solid. The unstructured interview came handy because it entirely differs from the so-called structured interview style where questions are predetermined (O ´ Reilly 2005:116). A set of obviously targeted questions would have only lead to short and vague answers. As a field researcher I was aware of the fact that the participants would experience embarrassment and restrain their openness. Within the unstructured interview I would address a certain topic and the interviewee felt welcome to respond truthfully and honestly. If I would have used a structured interview style, the responses of the interviewee would have been driven into a certain direction. I tried to avoid exercising any impact or pressure while obtaining the responses of the participants. I did not want to push the participants into a predefined direction. I wanted to give the interviewees the chance to share their personal views. That is why it was essential to give them the opportunity to decide what specific aspects of their lives they were willing to reveal and what aspects would stay closed.

The semi-structured interview contains elements of the unstructured and structured styles. The object of the semi- structured interview is to investigate the perceptions of the interviewee and at the same time follow a certain preliminary criteria. In this case, it is of crucial importance the interviews to be more or less structured on the basis of pre-formulated questions. The questions used throughout the research were not always asked directly, I kept using general questions. For instance: When and why do they come to the club? Is there a certain occasion to visit the club? What have they experienced so far in the course of the evening? What do they think of the other visitors in the club? Are they enjoying the club scene and the people? Do they visit the club as a group or on their own? Are they frequent participants at the club scene? Another general question for instance, was if they could say something about their lives? Can they share something about their general experience in the club atmosphere? For me it was vitally important to discuss at least a few questions and involve the participants in a talk. However, it is important to point out that within the semi-structured interview there is not a clear order or sequence of the questions when addressing the interviewee (Atteslander2006:125). The semi-structured interview like the unstructured interview style opens large scopes of new topics and the questions can be easily restructured and altered to fit the direction of the conversation. During the semi-structured interview new and exciting topics do arise (Atteslander2006:125). In many cases new topics, usually started by the interviewee made it possible for me to widen the focus and add further questions.

2.6.1 Setting of the Interviews During the field research and for the purposes of my interviews I did not approach the visitors of the club scenes. My aim was to create a realistic and natural atmosphere. I decided to carry out the interviews straight at the club scene. The different settings were the interviews took place were for instance: at the stand-up tables to be found within the club, at the bars, on the sofas, the wall at the side of the main dance floor , the dance floor, restrooms and quieter places. There were plenty of situations where the interviewees even forgot that they were being interviewed. The atmosphere in the restrooms where I had some of the interviews quite reminded me of a coffee shop, I did not want to spoil it. Instead, I tried to keep it up and used the settled surroundings when carrying out the interviews. It was a very delicate moment to carry out the interviews directly at the club scene because I did not want to destroy the special atmosphere within club. Additionally, I wanted to capture the whole atmosphere: the smell, the music and the setting. But at the same time it was

essential to observe in what ways the interviewees interacted with the other guests of the club. These aspects had to be taken in account as they were pretty much related to each other and could not possibly be separated into smaller units. That would have destroyed the integrity of the atmosphere and would be an impediment to the output of my task.

2.6.2 Defining the roles throughout the Interview According to most statements, the way the interviewer introduces himself and steps into the adapted role for the purposes of the interview might have a massive influence on the performance of the interview (O´Reilly 2005:145). That is to say, people who are being interviewed tend to react in certain ways, and those reactions are quite involved and come out as a result of the way the interviewer would choose to approach them. Therefore, it is necessary to decide upon what role the interviewer would choose because a badly chosen role could affect the reactions and responses of the interviewee (O´Reilly 2005:145). While I was carrying out some of the interviews I decided to take on the role of a therapist. I patiently listened to the problems and concerns of the participants and they were willing to share. At other occasions I would take on the role of a friend. In many cases I combined both. However, I kept bearing in mind that I should not allow for the interview partners to think of me as somebody who would push them or would insist on giving them some advice on how to make certain things better or least of all to judge their behaviour. As O´Reilly states, I did not try to pretend to be somebody else (O´ Reilly 2005:145). Since it was crucial for me to create an atmosphere where everybody would feel understood, free, welcome to share their views and concepts, I tried to act sincerely and friendly - a fake role would make the participants wall up. I do believe the interview as a mutually beneficial process for both sides. The manner and lifestyle a participant might show in the club atmosphere were not often sustained outside that atmosphere. In many cases that behaviour shade did not match the manner and lifestyle in everyday life. Therefore, one of my most vital tasks was to give the participants the chance to show different aspects of their personality and to make it possible for them to live through different roles models during the whole interview.

2.6.3 Creating a specific atmosphere during the Interview During my research I noticed that the priority task of the researcher is to strategically concentrate on the interviewee. A sense of empathy towards the participants is required in order to understand their problems, perceptions and values. The data turned out to be in most of cases more valuable and qualitative when I chose to spend the whole evening with the

participant. Experiences during the field research have shown that the more time you spend with the individuals, the more they open. My assignment was to understand their perceptions without judging them and searching for similarities or differences between me and their points of view and understanding of values. I tried not to evaluate the participants’ statements. Instead, I discussed their problems with them, leaving the judgment out. However, I had to open up towards the participants and give an insight about my life, too in order to gain their trust and build up a relationship on that particular basis. It was significant this trust relationship to be established throughout the research process. Another aspect of my research is that I did not ask straightforward questions. I gave the interview partners the chance to speak openly and honestly about their lives. I tried to keep the atmosphere as relaxed as possible and avoid any strict borderlines between me and the participants. My biggest worry and concern was to prevent the participants from feeling like an object of a research. The aim was to create an atmosphere, deprived of any tension and hostility. Throughout the research I noticed that it was not always possible to create an atmosphere without any tensions. It was difficult for me as a field researcher to make the participants aware of the fact that I was speaking to them for field research purposes. Some of the observed participants (males) often had rather different intentions than talk only, some would regards me as a potential short of long-term relationship and in those cases a clear borderline had to be drawn. A short insight in the field- diary provides the impression of similar situations when I felt like a prey for the male visitors:

I noticed that I was quite well integrated within the club atmosphere and it was difficult to set a border between me and the ones who were being researched as the male participants kept asking me to dance with them. A young man persistently tried to dance with me, even though we had not had the opportunity to speak that much. He started flirting with me on the dance floor. However, I kept my distance and tried to capture the club atmosphere. We had danced for a while and the DJ announced: “So jetzt haben wir das erste Liebespaar im Club gefunden.“ However, the DJ did not know that I was only dancing for research purposes and that I was trying to wall up a barrier. After a while, I stopped dancing and sat on the sofas to take some notes. Then came a young man, about nineteen years old, wearing an ironed blue shirt and said: “Wir könnten doch zusammen tanzen? Nur für fünf Minuten oder? When I told him that I was doing a research for the university, he looked at me weirdly and sounded quite annoyed when he said: “Aha okay, naja. “ He was no longer interested in having a further conversation with me, turned his thumbs downwards and vanished immediately (from the field-diary/ Location: Domus Club 29.11.2011).

There were many occasions when male participants tried to cross the physical barriers what they saw in me was just a regular participant in the club atmosphere. They often forgot that I was a researcher, or ignored the fact on purpose and some even looked at it as a challenge.

2.7 The role of the field diary within the research The field-diary was often very handy when I wanted to establish a borderline and distance against the ones who were being observed and interviewed. On the other hand the field- diary was often very useful as people became aware that observations were being made and as a matter of fact some of them started conversation. The field- diary was for me a tool of great importance in gathering information. Every time when I faced difficulties in finding an interview partners, I took out my field-diary. This proved to be a precious strategy in gathering the information I needed. I would always wait for somebody to come up to me, and to start speaking. In many cases conversations would lead to inspiring interviews. The participants at the club scenes were mainly the ones who made the first step to me and voluntarily started the communication process. It was then obvious for me that that they were willing to speak openly and did not feel disturbed by my presence. On the other hand when the interviews and conversation started I tried to always put the field-diary aside in order to create a relaxed atmosphere – I did not want to stop the conversing flow in any way. On one hand the field-diary was an important tool to make people aware of my presence. The field-diary usually provoked some curiosity and attracted the participants. Curiosity happened to play a major role in setting up a conversation. On the other hand, the field diary could often set up a borderline. Inhibitions with regards to openness can arise when using the field-diary – the participants may restrain from sharing their views and revealing their private world and thoughts or issues and talk about their participation at the club scene. It is often argued that field researcher have to carefully choose the right moment to take notes and decide what situations are appropriate for doing so (Emerson/Fretz/Shaw 1995:20). There is often the experience of deep ambivalence coming up within the field researcher because of the fact that the researcher wants to capture moments he has experienced with the participants by writing them down (Emerson/Fretz/Shaw 1995:20). On the other hand, if the researcher starts writing down his impressions in front of the participants, they might get the feeling that they are being used and their secrets and private issues subjected to scientific purposes (Emerson/Fretz/Shaw 1995:20). Within my field research I did have sometimes the feeling of guilt when taking out my field-diary but then I slowly realized that not all participants felt disturbed I felt more relaxed and calm. The field-diary documents observations, conversations and interviews that

have been carried out with informants, and general experiences that I have collected as a field researcher throughout the whole research process. The field-diary was an important means to collect data and capture ideas that later on evolved in useful theories. I have taken field notes either while I was participating in the club scene or at the dance floor or the toilet. However, the morning after I returned from the field site I immediately took more detailed notes on certain events and participants I encountered during the night .As I did not want to lose track of my still fresh memories and capture the moments on time this writing in my diary while the memories were still hot helped the analysis process.

2.8 The categories that have been built throughout the research process Looking for love: This category shaped out during the interviews and conversations which I carried out with informants. There were certain participants at the Club scene who attended clubs in search of a relationship. However these participants had their doubts whether the club was the right place to find a suitable partner. This is an issue with clashing views. The ones who are looking for love at the club state that many participants are only looking for a one- night stand. The ones who are looking for a relationship criticize the others who live for the moment. It is often argued by the ones who are looking for love within the Club atmosphere that the relationships are only kept on the surface.

The club functioning as a place where a role can be played: The category was shaped through the interviews I took from my informants. Some of the interviews have shown that clubs are places where one can play a chosen role, quite differing from the role they choose not to play in the everyday life. To some extent, the participants make use of the club scene as a place where they can immerse into a different reality and live out their fantasies.

Function of the club/ communication: This category was distinguished through the interviews. Interviews have distinctly shown that the Club often functions as a place where participants tend to speak about their work experiences and about general decisions in life.

The club functioning as a place where to get over the ex- partner: The club scene is often used by participants to get over an ex-partner. Some participants try to get some comfort and distraction from the lovesickness and rejection. Friends here often support and comfort the person who is suffering of lovesickness and encourage him to participate in the club scene and try to forget for a while.

2.9 Analysis of the data The observations that were carried out within the club were first of all analysed with a very open coding, general questions were asked: Does the club function as place where one can play a role? Is the club an attraction point in order to approach women? Is the club perceived a place where people are looking for fast sexual satisfaction? How do men approach women in the club? What is the general atmosphere in the club? How do visitors interact? Do the visitors follow a specific behaviour pattern when they attend the Club? Is the behaviour pattern of the guests always the same? Does the restroom in the club have a specific function? Do the participants in the club follow a specific expectation? Why is the club regarded by many females as an attraction point? Do the participants arrive in groups? The questions got more specific as the research advanced. The discussed questions made it possible to distinguish certain categories. At that point I decided to write analytical memos about the specific situations I happened to witness in the club. The observation part within the research has only covered a small part of the actual research. Observations that were carried out were crucial for obtaining a first insight of the general club atmosphere. Thus, the actual focus was based on the analysis of the semi-structured, unstructured interviews and conversations. The interviews and conversations that were held with the participants at the club scenes were analysed by means of the zusammenfassende Inhaltsanalyse by Philipp Mayring. According to Mayring when using the zusammenfassende Inhaltsanalyse there are certain systematic steps to be followed so as to shape out and distinguish the categories(Mayring 2008:61). Thus the first step when I started to analyse the data was to select specific parts of an interview. I selected those parts of the interviews that seemed to be crucial in respect to finding an answer to the research question. The selected parts of the interviews were then paraphrased, generalized and reduced( see Mayring 2008:61). The data was then reduced to a manageable corpus as the categories were formed (Mayring2000:472). Text passages that either displayed the same meaning, or dealt with similar subject matters were provided with the same category(Mayring 2008:61). Moreover I analysed and interpreted the so-formed categories. I have found out that a category can display a wide spectrum of meanings and interpretations. I will refer to the analysis of the data in the parts four and five.

3. Description of the field site I actively participated at the Viennese club scenes for a period of four months – from November, 2011 until February, 2012 for the purpose of getting a full insight on why young

people are strongly attracted to club life. It was important to find out if the visitors of the clubs followed a specific behaviour pattern. It was sufficient to investigate and focus on how people actually behave in public, at places not belonging to the private sphere of life but used in one’s private time. Moreover, I wanted to find out how the visitors inside the club scenes would interact. The club scenes can be defined as a quasi-public settings.There is a clear differentiation between public places where you can easily gain access to and all you do is quite visible, and on the other hand the quasi-public spaces which are not that accessible and the personality might not be that visibly exposed (Stern/Callister/Jones 2005:27). Usually there is a purpose, reasoning why people choose to visit bars or clubs. It is stated that the participants might visit bars or nightclubs to entertain themselves and/ or look for personal relationship with the same or the opposite sex (Stern/Callister/ Jones 2005:27). It is essential to elaborate on the fact that people look for a way to socially express themselves and the place to do so is the bar or the club (Stern/Callister/ Jones 2005:27).

The target of my research was to drift into the whole Club atmosphere as a crucial aspect of that movement was to obtain a deeper understanding of the participants’ lives and lifestyle. I used to participate at the club scenes three times per week – often enough to be recognized as a frequent member, and step out of the position of an outsider – being an outsider put me in the weird position of observing everything from a distant perspective. However, it was still essential to keep up an objective point of view, to spot unusual occurrences, as these were often perceived by regular members of the club scenes as a matter of course. Another aspect to be taken in account was that I adapted my physical appearance to the club culture. I used to dress up in a similar manner as the people in the research field. Furthermore, I behaved and acted to a certain extent like my informants in the clubs. For me it was the only possible way to be integrated within the field during the process of my adaptation and at the same time those measurements were necessary in order to be respected be my informant as equal. Due to the fact that I adapted to the surrounding in terms of my physical appearance and behaviour, I gained the participants’ trust and they started opening up as they could not possibly define me as an intruder.

I decided to select three clubs as an object of my investigation: The Domus Club, the Mocats Club and the Slide Club. I also decided to use pseudonyms for the names of the clubs to respect the anonymity of the settings and the participants. The club scenes are smaller in size it was possible to easily become a part of them. One of the positive aspects of the quasi-public

setting was that I did not need any permission to do the research and it was not bound to a specific time. I had the free choice to decide when to participate in the field. The research activities usually took place from twelve o´clock midnight until six o´clock in the morning. I did not face many difficulties in carrying out the interviews because most of the visitors identified me as a main participant and a frequent visitor of the club. The participants often experienced enlightenment to reveal a part of their private world. The Domus Club and the Mocats Club are typical students clubs. Such clubs can be found in Ninth District the Nussdorferstraße – there is a range of bars in that particular district. The area, where these clubs are located is called Stadtbahnbögen. An interesting fact is that they are located next in a close proximity. These clubs serve as attraction points mostly on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. The students, who are the most frequent visitors, are between twenty and twenty five years of age. Therefore, I decided to carry out the different forms of observations such as conversations and interviews during these days of the week. However, it should be stressed out that there were participants who visited the Domus and the Mocats, although they were not students. The third club which was an object of my research is the Slide Club. The Slide Club is a posh place, located in First District, close to the Opera House. The Slide Club was quite different compared to the students clubs, since the visitors had to follow certain dress code to gain access to the place. The observation interviews and conversations were carried out on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

3.1 The Domus Club 3.1.1 In front of the Domus Club Standing in front of the entrance of the Club one will immediately notice the three corpulent bouncers who keep a close eye on the guests. The bouncers stand in front of a wide heavy metal door leading to the club. One can clearly see that the bouncers have a specific allocation – two of them stand at the right side of the heavy metal door and one at the left. They usually wear black tight trousers and black shirts, and always make sure that people go in one by one without disturbing each other. Female visitors often have the advantage to get first into the club. However, the bouncers always look critically, scrutinizing the visitors who try to get in and be a part of the club atmosphere. It has to be pointed out that face control always look at the people in that sullen manner to scare the guests and make them aware of the fact that they need to show respect. Usually, the majority of people are given access. There are no strict exclusion rules in that particular club because it does not sustain a dress code policy. If fights are started in the club, the bouncers who stand in front of the club have to interfere and help

resolve the dispute and sling out visitors who are too drunk or aggressive. The bouncers in front of the Domus have a multifunctional role. They control the entrance of the club but at the same time they always have to be ready to support the bouncers inside the main club scene. There were several collisions of high aggression and tension between the visitors. In many cases the conflicts erupted at the side of the main dance floor. There was one particular situation when one of the main bouncers of the club fell down to the floor as he tried to throw out an aggressive guest.

3.1.2 Entering in the Domus Club After you pass through the heavy metal doors of the club there is foyer where the students have to show their students identity cards. A young woman checks with precision the students’ identity cards and an entrance fee has to be paid. Those visitors who are not students are either denied access or need to pay a higher entrance fee. In the lobby there is a cloakroom where a man behind a wide wooden table takes care of the jackets and coats of the visitors. It does not take long to realize that the club plays mainly house music, Hip Hop, and RnB. The hit songs that I heard most often at the Domus Club are: “We found in a hopeless place, shin a light through an open door, love and life will divide“(performed by Rihanna); “Let’s get the party started on a Saturday night, everybody is waiting for me to arrive, sending out the message to all my friends“(performed by Pink). “Excuse me but I might drink a little bit more than I should tonight and I might take you home if I could tonight and maybe I make you feel so good tonight cause we might not get tomorrow“ (performed by Pit bull).

The air is laden with heavy cigarette smoke. There is a non-smoking area provided in the club but it is then often used as a VIP area and special events are often organized there. The club has dark-red brick walls; there are monochrome pictures of semi-nude women. There is a silver disco ball hanging from the centre of the ceiling, blue and green neon lights brighten and beam through the whole club. In the blaze of the neon lights guests dance in smaller or larger groups and bounce to the music vibes. The main dance floor is packed, visitors have to elbow their way through the crowd if they want to go the other end of the club, the bar or restrooms. Many visitors use the lack of space to get in physical contact with others. The night might still be young but the dancing atmosphere is already great. Along the sides of the main dance floor there are dark brown leather sofas where people either chat with friends, or drink alcohol or smoke water pipes taking turn in groups. The sofas serve different purposes and in many cases they used as a proper and quieter place to approach the opposite sex. Many

couples, even people who have just met, use the sofas for sharing intimacies, in some cases physical borders are crossed over, but the other visitors do not usually take any notice of them. Couples are an integral part of the club spirit. There is a small balcony, placed exactly under the DJ’s booth. The DJ animates the guests of the club and plays a special cover of a house track with the following lyrics: “Are you ready for the Domus, we gonna ride the club.” As soon as people hear the lines of the house track cover, they start jumping, raise their hands in the air and follow the instructions given by the DJ. There is also a large balcony and stairs leading to it. On that balcony there are tables and sofas. Visitors may choose to stay there if they do not feel like being pushed on the dance floor. The zone at the balcony is also a place where visitors may rest or other rounds of drinks with their friends. That balcony zone is often used for birthday parties and celebrations, and the place can be reserved for special occasions. Many visitors of the club stand at the balcony if they want to have a better view to the whole club atmosphere and spirit. The external part of the balcony is decorated with pictures, most of them advertising vodka, everywhere you look, you see huge signs and advertisements Absolut Vodka. Bellow the balcony there two remarkably big screens, where contributions about party events and interviews with party guests are shown.

3.1.3 The communication between the Club members at the Domus Club Upon getting the full perception of the atmosphere at the Domus Club, one can easily define it is a very open and welcoming one, as the participants start communication with each other quite quickly. Most of the visitors of the club arrive in small groups. However, there are no established barriers to prevent people from approaching each other. Quite the opposite – on dance floor people dance in a provocative way with others who are not a part of the group they came along with. Many of the visitors in the club immediately drift into that specific atmosphere of open contact – that can be defined as a moment-centered behaviour. With this type of behaviour the physical component dominates and preconditions the further actions of the person. Participants, although strangers to each other, start freely crossing over physical borderlines. That impediment of physical borderlines is assessed by some visitors as an exciting factor because they have the opportunity to drift into a completely different world, live a different life, where only the joy of the moment counts. However, there are other visitors in the Club that do not wish to follow that moment-centered behaviour and find impediment of physical borderlines disturbing. On many occasions female guests of the club did complain that males in the club well cross over the physical barriers, quite natural for everyday life. In most cases those girls meant to say they did not wish to be touched so often

by strangers. Different groups in the club scene do not differ in the communication manner and approach to others. The episode, quoted further, gives an insight on the fact that groups can be distinguished by their fashion styles and clothing habits but then they tend to adapt their actual behaviour pattern to the settled in the club atmosphere and go along with the spirit of the place:

There was a group of friends at the Club and all of them were dressed in a very similar manner – wearing neatly ironed striped shirts. Their clothing style was much more conservative in comparison to the outfits of the other visitors who were actively participating at the club scene. Their fashion style most certainly distinguished them from the other visitors of the Club who were wearing mainly hooded jumpers and T- shirts. The group preferred staying at the bar and ordered drinks, from time to time some of them would walk about the club. Most of the time they stayed together and only on few occasions split up. It was easy to identify any member belonging to the group because of their clothing fashion. Although they had a distinctive manner of dressing, their behaviour pattern and the way they approached women did not differ from the behaviour of the other male club members. (From the field- diary 29. November 2011)

Men in general used similar techniques for getting in contact with females, as dancing was more often the focal aspect of the communication process rather than speaking.. The physical contact component accounts for the better part of the communication process. In many cases it could be observed that the participants in the Domus Club used methods other than words in order to start communication and finally approach the woman and these would be dancing and touching. Permission is not often asked for and in many cases permission is not given. It is essential to point out that there are female and male participants in the Club who state that it would be most unlikely to find a suitable partner for a proper relationship at the Domus, considering the fact that many visitors look for short-term adventures only and live for the moment. Following the latter statement, different perceptions and behaviour patterns might come to clash. If a certain participant at the club scene has high expectations, those might clash with moment-centered behaviour of others. Individuals with high expectations are often bitterly disappointed by those looking for an adventure. Most of them question the notion that the club is the right place to find love. Besides, some individuals expressed the desire to no longer frequent the place having realized and experienced that others were only interested in short love affairs and not in the perspective of a relationship. In some of the interviews and conversations a certain number of male participants shared that their expectations for finding a girlfriend could not be met at the Domus Club. In some of statement those participants tended to categorise and automatically define the Domus as a place where most of the females would not be regarded as appropriate partners for future long-term relationships. However, both sides 26

come to conflicting points of view since on the other hand most of the females without any hesitation defined the majority of the male visitors to the club as the ones who freely cross over physical barriers. Regardless of those statements, most of the contributors did adapt the moment-centered behaviour in the course of the evening. According to my informants the moment- centered behaviour does not often remain within the club atmosphere and is not restricted to the frames of the night. People are inclined to keep up that line of behaviour throughout the next twenty four hours and take it into in their private sphere of life. In many cases the moment-centered behaviour which feels exciting and thrilling the day after a night at fade and lose its significance, as everyday life steps in again. The club atmosphere that is based on the moment-centered behaviour has an impact on the private sphere. Easy and short- term sexual satisfaction with a stranger is possible but within the next day or so the participants want to forget and some often experience denial and displacement when thinking about the events of the evening, regarding them as a drift into a different world but at the same time they continue acing in a total reverse manner during their normal daily life.

3.1.4 Searching for sensation at the Domus Club The club often serves as a center where guests observe the behaviour patterns of others and some of them experience typical evoking sensations while observing the activities of certain individuals. The ones who look for that kind of sensation may not be involved in these activities. They behave as active observers at the club scene but in many cases they do not take any actions apart from observation. A large number of observers attend the club scene. Those would usually stay at the background, fascinated by the actions taken by others. A recollection of detailed observations comes to prove that some of the visitors frequent the club scene in search of that particular sensation. Such a situation, where the participants acted as observers was the fight scene between two of the visitors of the club. The observers were delighted to watch the free show and fascinated by what was going on, two of the boys even started imitating the actions of the two conflicting sides. The two young boys started to impersonate the fight situation at the dance floor; they pretended to hit each other in the face. The fight scene started quite unexpectedly: A young man was sitting with a couple of friends on a sofa and he was in fact relatively calm. Nobody seemed to have taken any notice of him. Suddenly a young man appeared from somewhere and lifted up his arms and punched him right into the face. The one who was hit was not prepared for a counterattack. He froze stunned, holding his cheek and moving his jawbone. Few minutes later a bouncer enters the club to interfere and stop the fight. After a while there were about three bouncers who came in control of the situation and took actions, including chucking out the aggressive young man. It took a

while before the atmosphere settled and the place regained its relaxed spirit. Two boys of my group started making fun of the whole fight situation and imitating the participants, one on them kept laughing and raised his arms towards the face of the other, pretending to hit him ( From the field diary 29. November 2011).

Another situation where participants acted as observers, longing for a show and sensation was when a drunk young man started throwing up at one of the tables in the club. The visitors gathered together around him and just observed the whole situation from distance. Here is more insight on that particular situation:

A very strong built young man wearing a black suit caught my attention when he was resting his head on one of the tables at the side of the dance floor. He was not in a very good condition and started to throw up one the table. The members, standing or sitting in close proximity to the table jumped and tried to run away so as to take a protective position. The participants in the club started gathering around him but observed the whole scene from distance. The bouncers of the club tried to take the drunk man out. One of my informants took notice of the whole situation and said in a mocking tone: “Oh vielleicht hat er ja etwas schlechtes gegessen.“ (From the field- diary 12. December 2011).

A bit different situation in the club showed another aspect of attending the place in search of sensation through observation. There was this female dancer at the bar. The males had not taken any active position but enjoyed the fact that the club served as a place where the sensation of thrust was appeased. In many cases the person who is being observed quite enjoys the attention he or she is gaining through the actions taken. The observed person is then often even more eager and amused to continue with that behaviour, which other found fascinating. The ones who are looking for sensation in the club are often the ones who are the observers of the show, but they might as well have active roles in that show. The following short extract may come as a proof of my point and give a further insight:

I noticed that the men at the bar were pouring sparkling wine all over a girl who was dancing at the bar. As she was dancing to the music vibes, young male visitors were staring at her intently but at the same time they were following every single move of hers (From the field-diary 12.December 2011).

There were other occurrences that come in proof of my conclusion that Domus was often visited in search of free show and sensation. One night, while I was carrying out my observations I got to know a group of young men who had come to the club to celebrate the graduation of a friend who had just successfully finished his Machine Construction study. It was quite obvious that the club was regarded by the group of young men as a place of 28

entertainment. When two girls began kissing, the whole group started pointing at them and it became clear they had come for the show, for a free sensation. They enjoyed observing the actions taken by the females in the scene. In this case we can talk about a reiterated phenomenon since the club functioned as a setting where members were observing the activities of the others, without being integrated. The following scene illustrates the matter of fact that the participants at the Domus consciously looked for and searched for sensation:

When I returned to the group of young men, they were standing in a circle next to a standup table near the dance floor. One of the young men who was about twenty five years old, blond curly hair and a conspicuous silver ear piercing told his friends: “Man betrachtet die zwei Lesben auf der rechten Seite, volle geil sie verwenden sogar ihre Zungen. “ I had not taken any notice of that kissing scene but the male informants were quite well aware of it. On the small balcony right below the DJ’s booth the two girls were dancing in one of the corners and were kissing each other (from the field-diary 29. November 2011).

3.1.5 The function of the stand -up tables within the Domus Club The stand - up tables within the Domus Club often have a specific function, since males who gather at the tables tend to use them as a place providing the opportunity to get in touch with females dancing on the dance floor. Many attempts to approach the female visitors of the Domus Club start from the stand up tables. Observations give the clear idea that males tend to use the stand up tables to make females aware of their presence. The female visitors on the other hand are often consciously dancing in front of the stand-up tables for the purpose of setting an indirect approach. Moreover, there are often groups of male friends that use the stand up tables to merely carry out observations. The stand-up tables in many cases somehow bring the male and the female visitors of the club together. It is a common occurrence when male visitors of the club would casually invite the females to have a drink with them at the stand-up table. The stand-up tables could provide a sense of security for the male participants and this is most often the case. Sometimes the females are not willing to answer the male’s attempt to approach her and in such cases male visitors can still continue using the stand up tables as a place where they can communicate with friends and have drinks.

3.1.6 Hierarchy structures of the visitors of the Domus Club A further point that has to be investigated is the presence of certain hierarchy structures of the different types of visitors, attending at the club. Here certain groups are classified by the staff working at the club. At the beginning of the evening one can often become a witness of striking situations when waiters wave the visitors away when they dare sit on sofas. The sofas 29

and the matching tables are often reserved for certain groups. The waiters serve champagne, prudently placed in small wine-coolers. Thus a clear differentiation and a borderline are drawn between the categories of visitors. It can be stated that there is a clear hierarchy structure amongst the club visitors – the ones who have reserved the tables enjoy special attention and treatment from the staff working at the Domus. On the other hand, the participants that have reserved the tables illustrate the hierarchy way of thinking as those groups tend to segregate rather distinctly from the other groups in within the club. There is no transparency with regards to the other groups to be found within the club. There are so-called conscious borderlines set up by the visitors at the reserved tables against the other members of the club. However, it has to be mentioned that these borders, walling deliberately some people against the others, quite naturally crumple down as the night get in full swing. The clear exclusion of the mass from the privileged, observed at the beginning of the evening is not a matter of relevance as the mood and the atmosphere of the club take over. The male participants from the reserved tables start asking other people to join them and have a glass of champagne. In many cases experience has shown that the champagne is used by the male participants as a catch penny, as a ‘pull” tool to get in touch ad set up a contact with the female visitors of the club. Champagne is a catchy approach to seduce a woman. What is worth pointing out is that the male visitors push the borders down by starting a conversation with everybody, asking people to join them for a glass of champagne but truth is they would go for those measures to get the attention of the female visitors of the club.

3.1.7 The restroom at the Domus Club The restroom in the Domus Club creates a pleasant coffee house atmosphere. Here women rest on the sofas and in many cases they spend a longer period of time in the restroom. There are large mirrors placed on the restroom walls. Women fix their clothing and refresh their make-up. The restroom sometimes reminds a consultancy center, where one can find somebody ready to listen to other’s love problems or share worries related to lovesickness. It can be stated that the communication exchange between the female visitors is most lively and dynamic in the restroom. Meanwhile girls use the place for resting if they have danced too long during the evening. The restroom often serves as a safe haven for females who try to get away from intrusive men or have taken in too much alcohol and need to rest on the sofas. Some girls stay longer in case they are attending or taking care of a girl who feels sick down to too much drinking. They would offer help and support – calling a taxi, finding the boyfriend to accompany the sick girl if such steps are needed.

3.1.8 Strategies used by the bouncers at the Domus Club The bouncers working at the Domus have a general impact on the club atmosphere. There were situations where one could clearly recall the strategies used by bouncers for the purpose of keeping an eye on the behaviour patterns of the visitors. The following extract gives an idea of the strategies used by one of the main bouncers:

The bouncer of the Domus Club is standing at the balcony of the club, the balcony is placed markedly bellow the DJ’s booth. It is more than obvious he is scrutinizing the guests, keeping an eye on the general atmosphere and keeping his eyes open to identify on time any upcoming conflicts. He has a good perspective from the position on the balcony. The observation range is wide enough (From the field- diary location/ Domus Club 16. January 2012).

3.2 The Mocats Club 3.2.1 The importance of the cloakroom of the Mocats Club As one enters the club one can perceive a long waiting line at the cloakroom. Most of the men and women are waiting in order to hand in their jackets they enjoy the waiting situation as they laugh and chat. The participants are mainly wearing jeans, hooded pullovers and trainers. There are not any specific fashion standards set by the Club. The club doesn´t try to create a so called artificial elite where certain groups are included and others are excluded. It can be stated that the bouncers don´t make a so called face check, where visitors are excluded due to their fashion. The waiting line in the cloakroom is actually already giving an impression of the actual atmosphere in the club. Observations reflect that the communication process between the visitors of the club starts as soon as they enter the cloakroom, long before they become actual participants in the main scene. Through my observations I have come to the conclusion that the line at the cloakroom in the Mocats Club serves quite too often as a place where visitors get to know each other, and often first contacts and communication are stated. The cloakroom is not only a place where people try to find the approach to each other. It is also a communication center. It does not take long before conversations between strangers start, there are no any borders limitations with regards to talking and, none that I am aware of. Men often make use the time while everybody is waiting to commence first approach to women, especially when women are not accompanied by a male or a female friend. An illustration of my point is the following extract from my field diary:

People were standing in the cloakroom in line waiting to hand in their jackets to the man working at the cloakroom. I noticed a girl, standing on her own in the line. She had long brown hair and was relatively tall, wearing a long sleeved T- shirt and jeans. A young man , who was about twenty eight years old, wearing an ironed shirt wanted to leave the club as he suddenly noticed the girl and smiled at her and said: “Ich wette du wirst heute nicht alleine nach Hause gehen?“ The girl replied with laughter: “Oh natürlich gehe ich heute alleine nach Hause.“ As the girl continued standing in the line, another young man who was accompanied by a male friend said: “Oh wir kennen uns doch?“ The girl answered: “ Ja das stimmt.“ Another situation which exemplifies that the cloakroom of the Mocats is a place where the communication level between the visitors is quite intense can be illustrated through the next situation. As I was standing in the line, there were two young men waiting right in front of me. One was carrying an old grey hunting backpack and was wearing jeans. He kept saying to his friend: “Was soll ich jetzt bloß mit dem Rucksack machen? “ Then he glanced at me and added: “Das ist der Rucksack von meinem Großvater würdest du mit mir tanzen auch wenn ich den Rucksack mit mir tragen würde. “ After a couple of minutes as he was standing right in front of the man working at cloakroom desk and said: “Bitte passen sie auf diesen Rucksack auf es ist der Rucksack meines Großvaters“ (From the field diary: Location: Mocats Club 11.January 2012).

3.2.2 The non-smoking area within the Mocats Club The Mocats Club has two separate areas: the first one is the non-smoking and the second one is the smoking area. These two areas are separated by a wide transparent glass wall. People usually have doubts whether to choose the smoking or the non-smoking area because in general they do not wish to be literally stuck to one place. There is a lot of motion going on in the club because participants constantly pass through the transparent door in order gain exit to the smoking area. Many of the female visitors wear jeans and converse shoes. Quite few wear high heels. Observation shows that male visitors of the club usually wear sport shoes, trainers, sports shirts and hooded jackets. The non-smoking place is furnished with sofas and small tables at the sides. The guests gather here to chink glasses and chat. There is also a small bar available for the guests to order drinks but most of them do not stay too long. There is a large screen placed above the bar, where Nelly Furtado’s music videos are shown. The club offers music videos of dancing hot-pants women all night. Despite the contents of the videos, it was surprising to note that people do not pay too much attention in general. Few would look at the screen. In the non-smoking area there are also standing tables, occupied mostly by men in small groups, drinking beer. The stand -up tables here are either used for a chat with friends or to spot, observe and approach women. The Mocats Club is a place where most visitors do not intend to stay the whole evening. It’s a place where people would go for a drink with friends and then move on to another club. Those people who intend to stay only a short period of time would often prefer the non-smoking area because it is very difficult to get through the whole

crowd to the bar in the smoking area. The Mocats Club can serve as a staging post for the participants. Through further observation it becomes obvious that the place is definitely a staging post for quite a few guests. Some keep their outdoor jackets on. Basically this comes to illustrate that the visitors are willing to move between different club scenes, meaning that they are not about to be tied to one specific club. Observations within the non-smoking area come to show that guests here do not dance in a defining, provocative way. Most of the communication between visitors is intense, dynamic, people dance in small groups of three or four, usually in a circle but there is always that sense of keeping a certain distance between the participants. It could also be noted that within the non-smoking area the guests dance rather for their own joy and amusement than to provoke, defy or challenge a potential date. It is easy to note that conversations are the main part of the communication process. The atmosphere is generally very open and friendly. Strangers start talking to each other while sitting on the sofas and drinking together. People who came in groups soon mingle and make new contacts. It does not usually take long before groups would invite members of other groups to join them for a drink or just a dance. No borderlines, no differentiation, everybody is welcome. Here females tend to communicate with each other on the sofa and are more open. However, atmosphere in the restroom is colder and reserved. The non-smoking area has the atmosphere of a coffee house with a dancing floor. I would like to give some more insight on the issue through the notes in my field-diary so as elaborate on the interactions between the visitors of the Mocats Club:

For example, there were four girls dancing in a circle. Quite soon another group of three men started dancing, too. There was yet another circle of five people. I noted that one of the participants was wearing an outdoor jacket and beige trousers. It could be noted that each group of people was dancing in circles devoted to the music but one could sense that some unwritten rule of keeping a physical distance and even detachment was being observed all the time. Young people were standing at the bar and in groups and chinking glasses (From the field diary: Mocats Club December 2011).

3.2.3 The smoking area in the Mocats Club The smoking area of the Mocats Club is provided with a main dancing floor and the atmosphere here differs from the one in the non-smoking area: visitors often dance in a provocative way; it is a common technique for men to approach women from behind and start dancing with them. There is a specific behaviour pattern common for the visitors in the smoking area. A good point to that is the fact that communication process is generally based on dancing. There is a thick cigarette smoke, burdening the air; it is difficult to go through the smoking area because of the massive jumping and dancing crowd. The DJ’s booth is located 33

in one of the corners of the club and is difficult to be seen at first glance. Upon entering the smoking area the first impression one will get is that it is a place with resounding music and heavy fog of cigarette smoke. The songs with the following lines fill in air:

“Was ist los, es ist Party angesagt. Die Saison ist eröffnet. Es ist ein wahres Spektakel, denn alle kommen weil es abgeht. Das ist ´ne rießen Party! Reißt die Arme in den Himmel und schwingt sie über den Kopf man wir sind erst am Ziel, wenn der Schweiß von der Decke tropft. Die Wände schwitzen, alle springen. Wir lassen und das gottverdammte Feiern nicht nehmen (Interpreter Die Atzen Frauenarzt& Manny Marc).“

“All day, all night, what the fuck. When I came to Spain and I saw people partying I thought to myself: What the fuck? All day all night. All day all night. Viva la fiesta, viva la noce vivo los DJ´s. Jonny la gente esta muy loca! What the fuck (performed by Sak Noel).“

“Party rock is in the house tonight. Everybody just have a good time. And we gonna make you lose your mind. Everybody just have a good time. Party rock is in the house tonight. And we gonna make your lose your mind. Shake that (performed by Limfao). “

The DJ often motivates and further stimulates the people, inspires them, makes them raise their hands. Visitors of the club do follow the DJ’s instructions. So, in general, the DJ can be defined as a person strongly influential with respect to the whole spirit of the club. The behaviour pattern of the guests is significantly influenced by the music and the stimulation of the DJ. Guests who seemed calm and relaxed at the beginning of the evening quite suddenly and quickly change their behaviour as certain type of music is played by the DJ. A typical example of behaviour reverse is when a young man started unbuttoning his neatly ironed shirt as soon as he heard the lyrics of the song: “Sexy and I know it“(performed by Limfao). It exemplifies that the music played in the Club has a tremendous impact on the actions of the visitors. While the song “We found love“( sang by Rihanna)was being played, more and more couples started kissing and hugging each other on the dance floor. The rest of dancing people of the club had to stop dancing or slow down and some quite obviously lost motivation. Then the DJ would play the song “Hangover „and the atmosphere in the club would shift again. Young men started jumping and banging their heads to the rhythm. The DJ leads the guests through different phases all through the evening and the night, one phase would be especially dedicated to couples, other phase would be meant to be for young people who identify themselves with the following lyrics: “I got a hang over, I never want to grow up.“

The DJ leads the people on the dance floor and directs their behaviour pattern. An extract from my field-diary clearly depicts what kind of impact the music might have on the guests: 34

There is a table in the club, reserved by a group of young people. A man from the group is wearing a stripped ironed shirt and has dark-copper hair, neatly smeared and parted with the aids of gel. The young man is wearing thick-glass rimmed spectacles, his appearance is rather conservative. His female companionship has long dark brown hair and is wearing a tight black tube dress and black high-heeled shoes matching the dress to perfection. When the song “We found love“ begins they start embracing and kissing each other. In the meantime other visitors of the Club stop dancing to the song. That is how the DJ exercises his impact on the behaviour and the mood of the guests in the club. After a while the DJ starts playing the song with the following lyrics: “I am sexy and I know it. Girl, look at that body. I work out. Girl, look at that body. “The young man with the thick-rimmed glasses and the ironed shirt suddenly changes his behaviour and starts unbuttoning his ironed shirt and makes exaggerated movements with his hands. He approaches his female companionship from behind and they both move to the rhythm of the song. It is a very common reaction for the male participants in the Mocats Club – playing the center of attention particularly when that certain song is played. The lyrics of the song give them a green themselves in a manner they would not normally use. The couples usually perform a dance interlude while the song is on. They enjoy the rhythm of the music as if they are somehow driven into a different world .The music played throughout the whole night is targeted at the mood of the guests: “Here we go push me until I get my satisfaction“, “Babe to Babe”.When the song “ Hangover“is being played male visitors start vigorously dancing to the rhythm and make funny fake movement. The DJ is the main motivator, stimulator of the evening and has a most drastic influence on the behaviour patterns of the participants. The DJ would often shout in the microphone: “Wo sind die Hände Leute“. The guests raise their hands in the air and start jumping. A typical illustration of the above statements: a young man wearing his hair in a ponytail starts jumping in the air and banging his head while the hit song with highly appraised lyrics is being played: “I got a Hangover, I never want to grow up“. The young man sings along and shouts. Soon after, the DJ would give new instructions on the microphone: “Put your hands up, hands in the air.” The DJ would address the female visitors in a special announcement: “Ladies are you ready for the party? “ (From the field-diary/ Location: Mocats Club 19.1.2012).

3.2.4 Hierarchy structure of the visitors in respect to the tables and places In the smoking area of the Mocats Club there is a balcony, equipped with tables. Those are often reserved by small groups who consciously create hierarchy with respect to the rest of the guests. The way of thinking from the position of prestige and privilege has a strong, big way presence. People who tend to occupy those tables and the balcony refuse to associate with the rest and deliberately avoid any contact with them. The only communication they are inclined to is the communication within their group.

3.2.5 Searching for sensation at the Mocats Club One remarkable phenomenon, observed at the Mocats Club is the presence of visitors who would use the club as a place for gaining attention and recognition. There was one situation,

quite handy in elaborating on this issue. A young man started to dance in a very exaggerated and ridiculous manner when he noticed that other visitors started paying attention to him. The dancer decided to highlight his dancing moves, danced facing to the people, quickly achieving his goal of being center of interest. The young man kept eye contact with the ones who were watching him from distance. Most certainly he felt encouraged to continue with his dancing, enjoying the attention he received from his audience. It felt like the man had taken up a theatrical role and the rest were merely admiring his skills and great performance. In the following extract a better insight is given on the issue why and how people use the club for the purposes of looking for attention.

I observed the following situation: a young man was standing in a group with his friends at one of the stand-up tables. The young man was wearing an opened shirt and a cardigan, and was eating an apple. After a while he decided to put the apple aside and started to make fiercely wild moves with his arms, raising them up and down. A young man that was chatting and drinking with a girl at one of the stand-up tables started watching the dancer from distance. As he was dancing in his funny, fake way with his shirt open, he caught the attention of his male friends but at the same time he had attracted a lot of attention from the other visitors of the club. When the dancer with the open shirt noticed that he was being observed by the young man and girl he decided to further exaggerate his dancing manner. The young dancer was enjoying the attention he was receiving from the visitors of the club. The Mocats Club also serves as a place where one can look for attention but at the same time many visitors search for a free reality show and sensation when observing participants ready to give them that show (From the field- diary Location/ Mocats Club December 2011).

3.2.6 The restroom at the Mocats Club Further observations provided me the clear notion that the restroom is often a crucial place where females are to some extend looking for sensation and start exchanging ideas about how they should react when they see familiar male visitors. The restroom at the Mocats Club reminds a discussion center. Here the communication between strangers is not as intensive and close compared to the one observed at the Domus Club. The girls tend to stay within their own groups and there is not much transparency and openness towards other visitors. The coffee house atmosphere, so typical for the Domus had nothing to do with the atmosphere here, bearing in mind the fact that that the restroom is very small and there are no sofas provided. The field-diary comes handy and gives a clear insight on the atmosphere in the restroom of the Mocats Club. As I was entering the restroom I could not help noticing that a very strong-built bouncer of the Club staff (who was wearing black trousers and a black T-shirt) was dashing in direction to the restroom and then started knocking on one of the toilet doors. In a few seconds he attempted to open the door by force. There was a blond girl sitting helplessly, completely 36

exhausted on the toilet seat. The bouncer pushed the door open and entered the toilet to check if she needed any help. The girl was sitting on the toilet seat; all the sinks in the restroom were full of vomit. Two girls entered the restroom and wanted to use one of the sinks but they were disgusted and started complaining that there was no clean sink to use. Suddenly, the restroom was full of girls, looking with disgust at the sinks and talking with indignation and irritation about the incident. While the two girls who went in first were standing in front of the sinks, one of them said: “Ich weiss dass er jeden Mittwoch hier her kommt. Nur das Problem ist dass ich das letzte Mal seinen besten Freund geküsst habe.“ Her friend answered: “Du musst dir da keine Sorgen machen hat er dich nicht irgendwie abserviert? “ The other girl replied: “Eigentlich hast du Recht er hat mich eigentlich schon irgendwie abserviert, also muss ich mir keine Sorgen machen dass ich seinen Freund geküsst habe (From the field-diary: Location / Mocats Club December 2011). “

3.3 The Slide Club 3.3.1 In front of the Slide Club As soon as one stands in the line in front of the Slide Club, one can clearly distinguish the particular atmosphere. The Slide Club differs completely to the typical student’s club scenes. Since nearly every female participant waiting in front of the line wears heavy make up skirts, tight jeans, or boots. As an observer the feeling comes up as if one is finding oneself at a fashion show, or a catwalk. Most of the males waiting in the line are wearing ironed shirts their hair is perfectly fixed with gel. Another crucial background information on the club is that its concept was very much influenced by a club that is located close to it. Within that area all clubs are following the concept of the so called artificial created elite.

Every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night there is a long queue of eager to get in people. There are two well-built bouncers standing at the entrance of the club, wearing black trousers and discussing and explaining in detail who is allowed to enter the club and who is not. There are mainly young people standing in the queue, their age ranges from eighteen to twenty five, they would usually try everything to gain entrance to the club. Even in freezing cold weather, the queues would be massive and people would wait patiently and hope to be let in.

During my research I noticed many occasions when young people would stand for hours in front of the club and try to convince the bouncers of the club using all possible means that they are in line with the concept of the club. The Slide Club is not only an attraction point for

young people, it also serves as a well-equipped accommodation where colleagues go to celebrate Christmas or other company events. While standing in front of the club one can easily identify different reactions on behalf of the people waiting to get in. Some want to gain access at any price and others find it frustrating, pointless and humiliating to wait in the line. The visitors who do not feel at ease with all the waiting are mainly people who have decided to visit the club with colleagues and came to the place accidently. I am going to elaborate on some particular scenes that took place in front of the Slide Club. These situations give the perfect idea about the setting and how people behave while waiting endlessly in front of the club.While I was waiting in front of the Club, there were many people waiting along with me and everybody could hear one man saying to his friends: “Oh meine Güte ist der Club wirklich so brilliant und gut wir warten schon Ewigkeiten hier, wahrscheinlich sind dann eh nur zwölfjährige Mädchen im Club. “

A girl with dyed blond hair, in a hooded jacket and a short skirt and boots was walking up and down and started establishing eye contact with one of the bouncers of the club, hoping to enter easier and faster. The girl stood for a while in the line and asked one of the guests for a cigarette. The girl was enjoying a lot of attention from the men waiting in front of the club and they started talking about her. She noticed the attention she was receiving and started smiling and enjoying it. Most of the people that were standing in the queue had come in relatively large groups. There were people of different ages. The age ranged from about twenty to forty. The reason for the age diversity was is that many people tried to visit the Slide Club with their workmates for Christmas celebrations. Some of the people that had been waiting in the line for too long decided to go to another club as they firmly refused to wait any longer in the cold. I also noticed that a boy and a girl who were waiting to be let in club were approached by a male friend of theirs, who came out of the Club. The young man was about twenty-one years old with short blond hair, wearing a dark-blue shirt, jeans and affirmed: “Eigentlich kann ich das nicht verstehen warum sie keine Leute mehr in den Club lassen, der Club ist nicht überfüllt. Ich war jetzt doch schon in dem Club. Ich werde nächste Woche eine Party in meiner Wohnung organisieren, ihr beiden werdet doch kommen? Wir werden später dann auch fortgehen. Ich habe Einladungen verschickt.“ In about ten minutes he left his friends again and re-entered the club (From the field diary Location: Slide Club Thursday December 2011)

However, on some occasions the Slide was far too crowed. Therefore, no more people were allowed to enter the club. The waiting situation had a strong effect on the behaviour pattern of the people who wanted visit the place. Some of the participants who were denied entrance would decide to observe the visitors who were leaving the club. They would make use of the time for waiting to observe others. There was that explicit case when a group of young men tried to convince the bouncer of the club to let them in. As the bouncer refused to grant them access to the club, the impatience and disappointment was about to lead to a conflict and the indignation within the group was quickly rising. The situation when young people tried to enter the club even though it was crowded is depicted in the following extract:

There are two men standing in front of the Slide Club. The bouncers standing in front of the Club too, announced: “Kein Einlass mehr heute.“ The two men started laughing and said: “Dann schauen wir eben wer aus dem Club kommt.“ The two young men are standing at the entrance, observing the visitors who are leaving the club. The girls who are leaving the club are wearing jeans, high heeled shoes – about 15 centimetres high. There were some couples leaving the club, the girls were wearing mini dresses and tights. On the sidewalk there is a group of young men waiting to get in the club. The indignation within the group is taking off and the possibility of a rising conflict can be sensed. Two members of the group try to convince the bouncer. They are denied access and start looking for other opportunities, discussing which club they could visit instead of waiting in vain. In about half an hour the conflict is a fact, the members of the group are engaged in a fight, beating each other. One could hear from the distance sirens, policemen coming to put an end to the fight within the group. Throughout the whole evening the bouncers give clear instructions to the visitors who were leaving the club. They show them which exit to take. At the entrance of the Slide Club there is a red carpet laid out. A group of young men is walking up to the bouncers. One of the bouncers gives each of the members of the group a kiss on the cheek and says: “Können auch die Brüder heute nicht reinlassen. “ The term “Bruder” is used by Croatian bouncers when greeting visitors of Croatian origin. Informants have explained to me that most of the bouncers working at the Slide Club have Croatian origin. While the two young men of the group are leaving to look for another club, they are laughing and repeating the phrases of the bouncer: “Sie können auch die Brüder heute nicht reinlassen. “ (From the field-diary Location/Slide Club 16, February 2012)

3.3.2 Gaining an insight of the Slide Club There are steep white steps leading to the foyer of the club. Here, a woman and a man sit behind a wide white table, with a laptop on it. Here either the man or the woman checks if certain guests are in the guest list. If a visitor is in the guest list, it is possible to be let in the club for free. However, not many people are in the guest lists. Most of the visitors have to pay the regular amount for the entrance pass. The man or the woman hand to each of the visitors an entrance ticket, which has to be shown once again to a bouncer of the club. The bouncer 39

takes a critical look at the entrance ticket and puts a stamp on the participant’s wrist. Before entering the main club area there is a small lobby (more of a vestibule) nicely furnished with standup tables with a rectangular shape. At the standup tables there are groups of young people gathered together and chinking their wine or champagne glasses. Within that lobby to the club area right opposite the three white stand-up tables there is a bar. The bar is also white and in perfect match to the stand-up tables, adjacent to the bar there is another stand-up table. The wall behind the bar is black; there is a transparent plastic board right above it, where dear horns are fixed to decorate the walls of the club. There is a narrow corridor leading to the main dancing area. While passing through the crowd of guests one can see more white stand- up tables and a bar at the focal central point of the club. The guests who would choose to stay at the bar have a perfect view to the main dance floor. The bar often has a specific function for the male visitors. This is the place to observe and approach women. In a hooded corner but within the main area of the club there is another bar, with more white rectangular standing tables. The DJ’s booth is right in the middle of the main dancing area; it is relatively large in size and is also white. However, throughout the night the DJ booth is illuminated by red, green, violet and yellow neon lights and is constantly changing its colour. The DJ has a direct view on the dance floor and can animate the party guests from within a closer reach. The walls within dancing area are green. A collection of deer horns is placed on the walls and creates a specific atmosphere. One of the main targets of the designers of the club must have been to combine traditional and modern style flair. Right next to the DJ’s booth there is a black tribune. At the front part of it people like dancing, raise their hands to the house vibes, jumping. At the back of the tribune there are sofas, and stand-up tables, here the guests often sit in groups of four to five and order their cooled champagne. The back of the tribune can be defined as the VIP area of the club; groups of friends, and colleagues reserve tables there. The place is frequently used for birthday parties, company celebrations and other merry occasions. The Club consists of two floors; there is a white stair case that leads to the balcony and the restrooms. The balcony serves as a VIP area, too. There is a perfect view to the main dance floor. There are white sofas placed at the side of the white walls of the balcony. Opposite of the sofas there are four rectangular stand-up tables, where guests have their drinks and chat. Despite the fact that the balcony is in a sense somehow secluded from the main dancing area of the club, people can still freely and actively participate in the club atmosphere. Neon lights illuminate every corner of the place and the vibes of the music can be felt just as well as on the main dancing area. The general dancing atmosphere can be perfectly captured from the

balcony and there is a detailed view on to the whole place because of its ideal position above the dance floor.

3.3.4 The importance of the physical appearance at the Slide Club The physical appearance is extremely important at the club scene; most of the women wear high heeled shoes, short tight dresses, boots and thick make-up. The male visitors usually wear ironed striped shirts, rolled-up collars, scarves and sack coats. There are also elder, middle aged men with grey hair and those usually wear suits, they sit most of the time at the bar and drink in groups mostly champagne. There are just few visitors who dare wear sports clothes. As a part of the whole club atmosphere, participants have to follow specific fashion style and dress code. The visitors sometimes underestimate the regulations set by the club in respect to dress code. In many cases the bouncers of the Slide would decide that people cannot be allowed to participate within the club scene if they do not follow the fashion regulations. Those regulations of the club as to fashion style and dress code are quite homogenous. The bouncers often misuse their power and from the position of the authority may decide who is properly dressed and who is not – hence, who is allowed and who is not, who can be a part of the fictionally created elite. There is a hint hierarchy can be observed in some cases. For example the bouncers may decide to open the jackets of young men waiting in front of the club just to make sure that they have kept to the dress code and rules – for instance if shirt is well ironed. An extract from my field notes provides a clear evidence on the fact that people are excluded from the club when they do not bend over to the so called “dress code“, established by the club:

There was a group of four male friends standing in front of the Slide. As they tried to enter the Slide Club the bouncer opened each of their jackets to check if they had kept to the fashion standards, required by the club management. While the bouncer was opening their jackets one by one, he started nodding in disapproval and stated that they could not enter the club. The young men tried to convince the bouncer using all possible means. One of the young men wanted to offer the bouncer a scarf (it was a cold winter night), hoping that might help him get an access to the club. The bouncer considered the offer but in a short while he denied access. There was no way to convince the bouncer once he had made up his mind (From the field diary/Location: Slide Club18. February 2012)

A further example for acting from the position of the power is the situation when a group of five young people were excluded on purpose and it can be found in the following scene:

A group of five young people tried to enter the club. For some unknown reason the bouncer denied them access to the club. One of the boys started begging for entrance tickets and said: Bitte lass uns rein? Wir wollen hier nur Geld ausgeben und Spass haben. The bouncer did not react to the boy’s begging tone and was not to be convinced. A friend of the young man tried to calm him down and made it clear that it was best to give up trying. “Bitte Martin es hat keinen Sinn. Er ist stur und ein Idiot.“The young man answered: “Ich will nicht in den anderen Club der in der Nähe ist es spielt am Freitag nur Scheiß dort.“ After a while a girl from that group tried again to convince the bouncer and made him aware of the fact that she was wearing high heeled shoes. “Ich habe doch sogar hohe Schuhe an.“ They used every possible means to convince the bouncer. However, the wish to enter the Club was answered with silence (From the field dairy/Location: Slide Club 17. February 2012).

There are specific guidelines set by the management of the club and those have to be followed or otherwise people will be excluded or simply denied any access to the place. Moreover, the bouncers of the Slide Club often take random decisions on who is allowed and who will not be allowed in the club. The bouncers misuse or overuse their position of power and try on purpose to catch on some silly reason not to allow a guest in. Their most common excuse is that the visitors are inebriated even if these individuals were hardly or not inebriated at all.

3.3.5 The atmosphere at the Slide Club Participants in the club dance most of the time individually or in circles. The bar in the Slide Club serves as a place to approach and start conversation with women. It can be stated that the way women are approached by men and the general communication process between the guests in the club is quite remote and distant. There is no body-defining, provocative dancing style to be noticed anywhere in the club as was the case in the students club. The club atmosphere is not always rigid; it is very much dependent on what day of the week one decides to visit the club. However, it can be noted that on Saturdays there is generally a livelier dancing atmosphere compared to other days of the week. Observations have come to prove that on Thursdays and Fridays there are more explicit physical borderlines between the visitors of the club, it usually takes longer for the guest to start adapting to the atmosphere and feeling relaxed. The music that is played during the evening differs with respect to what day of the week it is. On Thursdays and Fridays they play party hits, dance music, chart hits, house and RnB tracks while on Saturdays the guests are animated by music of the 80s, 90s, and disco pop music vibes. As the song with the following lyrics was played on a Saturday: “I am a bitch, I’m a lover, I´m a child I´m a mother I´m a sinner I ´m a sant I don´t feel ashamed I´m your hell I´m your dream I am nothing in between You know you wouldn´t want it any other way“ girls stood in groups close to one of the bars and started screaming along with the

lyrics of the song. As the song “Everybody “ by the Backstreet Boys was played, men started dancing to the lyrics of the song and raised their hands to the vibes of the music. On Saturdays mainly songs that would fascinate most of the guests are played and would urge them to get on the move and dance.

3.3.6 The influence of the music on the behaviour of the visitors Observations make it quite clear that songs played in the club might have a huge impact on the behaviour pattern of the guests and on the general mood and spirit of the people and the way they would choose to dance. Moreover, it can be concluded that the songs played during the evening have a particular influence on the atmosphere, create that atmosphere in club and determine the way people interact. There was this situation in the Slide through which it became quite evident that certain songs have certain impact on the behaviour pattern: visitors who had been calm and quiet during the whole evening started playing the air guitar, and groups of male friends began rumbling and dancing. The field-diary depicts the whole situation when the behaviour pattern of the visitors reversed in seconds down to a specific song. It can be further perceived the song named “Sex is on fire“ by the rock band Kings of Leon and its house music cover has a strong effect on the mood in the club. One of the male participants of the Slide Club started screaming along with the chorus and his behaviour was transformed immediately – from a quiet observer he turned into an ambitious guitar player with a missing guitar. A man in an prudently ironed shirt and a rolled up collar who seemed to be calm and quiet during the whole evening started dancing and a group of male friends began rumbling along with the lyrics of the song and dancing as if they had drifted into a whole new world. More and more people split into couples, people suddenly started kissing and holding each other. I also paid attention to two young men who were about twenty years of age. Both were wearing suits. The whole time they were standing together on the dance floor acting rather inconspicuously. When the song “Sex is on fire „started they rapidly changed their manner. They left the dance floor and suddenly stood together on one of the pedestals of the club, dancing vigorously and fiercely and screaming to the lyrics of the song“Sex is on fire.“ At other times, certain songs would predispose people to feel romantic and would contribute to the romantic atmosphere in the club. As the song with the following lines was played: “In the night time when the world is as its rest you will find me in the place you know the best dancin´, shoutin flyn´ to the moon don´t have to worry, cause I´ll be come back soon“ (produced by Paul Kalkbrenner) “

it was obvious that the music and the text influenced the mood of the guests. They began dancing in a defiantly, body provocative way and kissing each other. While that song was played, people split into couples. This is an example how music exercises a great influence on the way participants behave and change behaviour and the way they would choose to interact with each other under that influence. The behaviour of the participants to a great extent results from the music; people are free to choose what kind of music they wish to identify themselves with. A very important observation, made through the research process can be elaborated on and namely the fact that he visitors of the club do not often spend the whole evening with the same person, they would rather move from one acquaintance to the next, depending on the purpose and needs of the participant. In comparison to the other clubs the way people would choose to approach each other sill have a slightly hidden and indirect message but there are quite similar to the behaviour patterns observed and researched at the other places.

3.4 Summary of the three Clubs The observations have disclosed that the Domus is a club, functioning as a place where the visitors tend to act at the spur of the moment; most people there follow a specific behaviour pattern. When one participates at the Domus Club scene, it can become rather apparent to him or her that physical barriers between the visitors are often crossed over. It goes with the main club atmosphere: the young people start dancing in a defiant and provocative way, using the strength of the body language. Apart from that, the body language and the manner of dancing are often some of the first steps and tools used by male participants in their attempt to approach the woman. In addition, there are participants at the Domus club that have certain expectations related to their presence at the club. Some informants have explained that they were definitely and firmly against the moment-centered behaviour. It can be said that at the Domus Club there two conflicting kinds of attitude with respect to expectations and behaviour: there are male, as well as female visitors who argue that there are certain difficulties in finding the right partner within the club atmosphere. These participants strongly disapprove of the moment-centered behaviour of other visitors and experience doubt whether the Domus Club is the right place for finding a partner. Besides, it can be stated that the communication at the Domus Club is dynamic, speedy, and intense. There are hardly any barriers between strangers in respect to exchanging conversations; it is relatively easy to become a member of the different groups, contributing to the club atmosphere. It can be stated that no kind of exclusion was ever observed. Within the Mocats Club the atmosphere was also very open, the quick and easy interaction between visitor at the entrance of the club, the

dynamic exchange of conversation, the random chat, they all go with the club atmosphere. Observations have clearly demonstrated that at the Mocats Club the cloakroom often has the role of a “communication center”; here it is easy to get strangers involved in a conversation or just a small talk. Visitors think of the cloakroom as the perfect place to take first step and determine their approach towards the other sex. At the very entrance of the club the atmosphere at the cloakroom provides an insight on how visitors interact with each other on general basis. The communication between the visitors at the Mocats Club inside the non- smoking area somehow induced, the conversing is dynamic, intense and it’s the main tool for making an impression. Here the physical component and the physical approach is not the focus and may seem a bit irrelevant, while at the same time the situation in the smoking aria is quite different. The communication in terms of conversing is reduced to dancing in a defiant and provocative way and the usage of body language can be acknowledged as the most common tool. The atmosphere at the Slide Club differs in comparison to the general spirit to be observed at the students clubs. Since the visitors at the Slide Club often dance individually, the so-called physical component does not occupy the focal part of the communication. It takes a longer period of time before people feel relaxed enough to approach each other. The means guest here would use to set a contact with another guest of the club have a more delicate and vague characteristics.

Furthermore, it can be stated that the students clubs and the Slide Club are often used as places where one would look for others’ attention. The visitors of the club scenes usually observe the actions of others without taking any actions whatsoever. They may choose to observe the other visitors from a distanced perspective. In many cases the ones who feel observed are fascinated by the received attention and feel encouraged to carry on doing whatever the audience likes watching.

Observations at the Domus Club show that the stand-up tables are an important point to observe and to get in touch with females who dance on the dance floor. On the other hand, the female participants usually approach the males in an indirect way – dancing in front of the standup tables, looking in the direction of the desired male object. The first steps to approach a woman at the Mocats Club are often taken at the cloakroom. Besides, men often snatch the opportunity to involve a woman in a conversation while sitting on sofas in the non-smoking area. Observations within the Mocats Club manifest that here, too the stand-up tables are thought of a crucial point in males’ attempts to approach women. At the Slide Club the bar

within the dancing area is in most cases frequented in order to observe and invite women for drinks.

In addition, there is a sense of hierarchy thinking imposed at the Domus Club. This hierarchy way of thinking is quite palpable: the ones who have reserved tables are treated in a different way and indulged by the waiters, something which cannot be confirmed about the treatment and attitude towards the other participants in the club. When random participants dare sit on the sofas, which go with the reserved tables, they would immediately be chased away either by the waiters or a bouncer of the club. There is that impression of a conscious exclusion in respect to the other groups of visitors. A frequent occurrence that is strongly opposed is the attitude of bouncers and waiters with respect to exclusion of females who do not belong to certain groups that have reserved the tables. On the other hand, the groups sitting at the reserved tables segregate themselves from other participants. Throughout the evening however, the males belonging to the privileged tables try to include other women to their group, even though those same women might have been banned from the tables earlier in the evening. The more the night goes into full swing, the more transparent the wall between the groups would become. The way of thinking from the point of prestige and privilege can also be observed at the Mocats Club: sometimes there are tables, reserved by visitors within the smoking area and others are purposefully excluded. At the Slide Club the hierarchy way of thinking relates mostly to dress code and regulations. The club has set certain regulations and rules. On many occasions visitors are denied access because according to somebody’s opinion they are not wearing perfectly ironed shirts or the appropriate shoes. Quite too often the bouncers would go to extremes: they might decide to open men’s jackets in front of the club to check the condition of the shirt and then would decide that they cannot possibly allow the guest in. The bouncers of the Slide Club often misuse or overuse the position of the powerful when sometimes taking random decisions. The visitors would go for any steps and means to try to convince the bouncers of the club that they are dressed in accordance with the regulations. There were situations when a group of young people waiting in the freezing night tried to bribe one of the bouncers by offering him a winter scarf. Whatever means one would choose to get in the club, the efforts might still be fruitless and that was the case with the scarf situation. The bouncer of the club was inconvincible.

In the process of the research the observations come to show that the atmosphere in the restroom at the Domus Club reminds of a relaxed coffee house atmosphere. Female visitors

exchange their ideas about lovesickness. At the same time, the restroom serves as a place get away from intrusive men. At the Domus the communication between the female visitors is most lively and intense in the restroom, which also serves the purposes of a center for sharing and exchanging information and views, yet the communication with women, not belonging to the group remains reserved and hardly ever opened. There is no such atmosphere at the Mocats Club down to the fact that there were no sofas or other convenience to relax provided. In the Slide Club the restroom was used by females more as a gossip corner, a place where to talks about male visitors in the club. Women would usually fix and refresh their make-up, arrange their hair, fix their clothes and correct any flaws. There were no sofas or chairs provided for the females to rest, so they have to stay leaning on the walls to catch their breath and have a small talk.

In addition, it can be stated that the music played at the clubs often has a tremendous impact on the behaviour pattern of the visitors. This phenomenon can be well recognised at the Mocats Club while the song “We found love sang “by Rihanna is on: more and more couples gather at the dance floor and start kissing each other. The DJ plays an important role as a conductor of the mood of the guests, but only couples would dance at that song; the others have to step aside and that would happen with every love or romantic song with all those people who have no dancing partner. The DJ has a strong influence on the behaviour of the visitors. An example to the latter statement is the situation at the Mocats Club when a young man transformed his behaviour: as soon as the song with the following lines began: “Sexy and I know it“, the man started unbuttoning his ironed shirt and making inflating movements with his hands. It can easily be observed and noted that in many cases young guests make use of the song and its lyrics in order to step into action. At the Slide Club there are also many examples to be seen when music can unlock certain emotions and catalyse the mood, change the behaviour of the participants and influence the whole club atmosphere. Visitors who are seemingly calm and relaxed during the evening go through a thorough behaviour shift when as the song the “Sex on fire“is played. They would start shouting, singing loudly along with the chorus and jump on to one of the pedestals in the club. On one occasion there were a few groups of young men, rumbling to the chorus; a man who had hardly moved during the whole evening suddenly started playing an imaginary guitar and singing with the lyrics of the song.

However, it can be summarized that there is no distinct borderlines or any significant differences between the club scenes. The visitors are not likely to stay tied to one club and are

not attracted by one only specific place. They might frequent a place but they would also choose to move and change scenes.

3.5 The Interviewees During the interviews it was crucial to keep the anonymity of the respondents. The very interviews allured the participants to discuss very private and touchy topics and sensitive subjects and to reveal some parts of their private world. That is the reason why I have decided to use pseudonyms for the respondents and respect their willingness to respond and respect their privacy. I have also provided some background information on the gender, the age and the occupation of the interviewees. The interviews were recorded in an informal way in the field-diary. No tape recorder used because I could not run the risk of losing the advantages of the semi-structured and unstructured interviews and conversations; it should be stated that most of the interviews were often taken right at the research field. The interviews and conversations took place mostly on a spontaneous basis. A tape recorder would have ruined the natural atmosphere and would have disturbed the informants’ speaking flow. Most of the informants are between twenty and twenty-five years of age. There are two informants above that age. It is important to elaborate on the integrity of their perspective in order to find out if there are any behaviour pattern differences in comparison to the younger participants. The interviews were mainly carried out in the German language however there were two informants that couldn´t speak German, here the interviews were then conducted in English.

3.5.1 Informants from the Domus Club Clara from Verona: She was a visitor of the Domus Club and a student at the Erasmus University. Clara is 21 years old and is studying Political Science. She was visiting the club with an Italian female friend of hers. I noticed her while she was sitting on one of the sofas in the restroom. She caught my attention because of her interesting fashion style, her highlighted lips and the calm tone in her voice as she was speaking to other females in the restroom. As I started observing her I got the impression that she was very distant – she was sitting with crossed legs and a book in her hands. Following the short observation time I got her involved into an intensive interview. The duration of the interview is an hour. She gave me a clear insight of her life and her world and this made me feel like a participant in her life.

Joel from Vienna: He is a regular participant at the Domus Club used to come across him every Monday at the Domus Club with a group of male friends. Joel is twenty-five years old,

he works as a hairdresser and he earns additional living as a DJ for some events at the U4 Club. The interview was carried out at the dance floor, as I did not want to influence the natural club atmosphere.

Nina from Poland: Nina has been a regular at the Domus Club. She is studying at the Translation Faculty, Vienna. She is twenty-three years old and she was in the club with a female Polish friend of hers. Nina is a student at the Erasmus University. The interview was carried out in the restroom of the Domus Club, where the atmosphere reminded me more of the one in a coffee house. This relaxed coffee house atmosphere was quite suitable for me to manage an appropriate interview situation, as interviews were more of a chat than strictly arranged asked and answered questions. The female participants tend to open up and exchange their ideas and views rather quickly when they have the feeling that they are actually chatting rather than being asked on purpose. During the interview with Nina I was holding her drink while she was in the toilet. She was very thankful and decided to give an interview.

Laura from Montreal: A visitor of the Domus Club and an Erasmus University student. Laura is twenty-two years old. She has given me her clear insight on why she thinks of the club scene as an attraction point. The interview was carried out in the restroom at the Domus club. While she was about to leave the restroom I took the opportunity and asked her if it was possible give me interview. The duration of the interview is about fifteen minutes.

David from Vienna: The interview partner participated at the Domus Club scene. He is twenty-one years of age and is studying international business administration. As to his physical appearance he has short blond hair, and at that time was wearing a T-shirt and trainers. He was in the club with a group of friends. While I was sitting on one of the sofas in the club, he started a conversation with me and after a short while we were engaged in an interview. David has given me an insight on his general attitude with respect to the club atmosphere and the club experience he has had accumulated during his participation in club life. He has also informed me about the difficulties he has faced in finding the right woman at the club. The interview is thirty minutes long.

Martin is originally from France: Martin is thirty years old and is studying international business administration through a Master Programme. He has been in Vienna since 2004. He was in the Domus Club on his own. As I was standing near the dance floor and taking detailed

notes of specific situations, Martin came up to me. He was excited to bring up and share everything that he had experienced at the Domus Club. The interview was taken in the non- smoking area. The place is furnished with sofas; the atmosphere preconditions an open and easy communication and is rather different from rest of the main club scene. For the interview partner the more private atmosphere was important because he did not wish to communicate his views, insight and emotions of his private life within hearing distance from the rest of the guests. The duration of the interview is one hour.

Markus from Vienna: Markus was a guest at the Domus Club. He is twenty-one years old and is studying at the Economics University of Vienna. He was wearing an ironed white shirt, he was tall, his hair was fixed with gel. As I was standing at the side of the sofa in the Domus club, he took a look at me and asked if I wanted to drink some champagne with him and his friends. The interview was carried out close to the sofas. I asked questions but I ultimately I decided to carry the interview in a very covert way. I did not want to force him into changing his behaviour pattern. The covert interview gave me the opportunity to find out how males in the club would approach a women and what kind of means they would use to impress a female.

Leonhard originally from Vietnam: Leonhard is studying international business administration in Vienna, he is twenty-three years old. He was celebrating his cousin’s birthday at Domus Club. Leonhard participated in the club scene with two of his cousins. The interview was taken on one of the sofas. He has given me a clear insight on why he was willing to visit clubs. Besides, he expressed his indignation with respect to the behaviour of some people at the club scenes. Moreover, he has given an insight on his values and standards and understanding on the manner a woman should be treated with.

3.5.2 Informants from the Mocats Club Sebastian from Salzburg: Sebastian was a participant at the Mocats Club. He is twenty-one years of age and an Economy student. He was at the club with three male friends. All of his friends. During the conversation he gave me a clear insight on why they had chosen to visit the Mocats Club. The conversation was started at the side of the dance floor. I tried to direct the conversation to certain issues but I also gave him the opportunity to express openly and freely the issues and matters he was being interested in. The conversation was enlightening

with respect to the fact that I was given a chance to identify the reason why he and his friends felt attracted to certain club scenes.

Peter from Vienna: He was twenty years old; he was studying Law - the third semester. Peter was at the club scene with a friend. The conversation has started at one of the standup tables of the Club.He spoke about the influence of alcohol on his behaviour structure.

Linda from Niederösterreich: She is a Sociology student and is twenty-one years old. I was sitting on one of the sofas behind a table within the non-smoking area. Linda saw me and asked if could sit next to me. She was accompanied by a female and a male friend. Linda was quite well integrated in the club scene as she was dancing with her friends and generally rather open to strangers. This conversation was a great opportunity for me to obtain more information for she was speaking freely about everything that she could think of. There were no barriers with regards to sharing and speaking given the fact we were we were sitting in a group.

Magdalena from Vienna: She is studying Geography and French. Magdalena is twenty-one years old and was in the club with three female friends, all of them studying Geography, too. She defined her friends in an interesting manner: Meine Geofreaks. Although her friendsdecided to go into the smoking area to dance she chose to the stay in the non-smoking area and give the interview for me. The interview is about thirty minutes long.

Fritz from South Tirol:Fritz was a participant at the Mocats Club. He is twenty-three years of age. He is studying at the Boku University in Vienna. He was at the Club with two male friends. The conversation started at the bar in the smoking area. The informant was actually trying to use the conversation as an approach, so a clear borderline had to be drawn.

Stefan from Vienna: My interview partner is twenty-two years old. The interview was taken at the sofas in the non-smoking area. He informed me that he visited the Mocats Club every three weeks. The interview was taken on a covert basis. I did not want to change his behaviour pattern.

Raphael from Vienna: He was Stefan’s friend and they had come together to the club. Raphael is working as a tram-driver in Vienna. Raphael revealed in what ways women were approached by him and his friend in the club scene.

3.5.3 Informants from the Slide Club Interview partner Johann: Johann is twenty-five years old and used to be a student of an economics school named HAK. After attending the HAK, he started working for the Vienna Insurance Group. He was well- built and was wearing a suit. He had come to the club with colleagues from work. I was standing at the side of the dance floor when he noticed me and started a conversation.

Andreas from Munich: Andreas is twenty-five years old and originally from Munich. He has been studying business administration in Vienna for two years. Andreas had come to the Slide Club because of the Christmas party of the staff. He also works at the reception of a well- known maternity clinic in Vienna. The interview was taken at the dance floor of the Slide Club.

Jenny from Vienna: Jenny is twenty-one years old and she is studying Molecular Biology. She was at the Club with a couple of friends and her sister. They were celebrating her sister’s birthday. The interview was being held at the side of the main dance floor. She has given me a clear insight on her life and lifestyle and her views and understandings.

Erwin from Vienna: He is twenty years old and works for the media print. The duration of the interview is about one hour. Jenny and Erwin belong to the same group of people, but I interviewed Jenny first. Erwin noticed that I was interviewing her and decided to talk to me. At first he was interested to know why I was taking notes of the club atmosphere. He was not so sure whether he really wished to give me an interview but after a short hesitation he agreed to. I tried to establish a friendly relationship of trust and make him feel comfortable with the interview situation.

Ludwig from Neusiedl of Croatian origin: Ludwig is twenty three years old and works as a car mechanic, he is also an active participant at the Slide Club. The interview took place at the dance floor of the Slide Club and at the bar.

Max from Vienna : Max is twenty four years old and works at an economy office and at the same time is also studying Economics. He has informed me on the difficulties he faces to combine work and study. As I was waiting in front of the Club in the line, he started a conversation with me and told me he would like to support my research project. The interview was taken at the bar and at the dance floor in the club.

Alexander from the countryside Lower Austria: He was a visitor at the Domus Club. Alexander works for the IT Sector and is self-employed. Alexander has to go on many business trips to Germany and Switzerland. Alexander is thirty-eight years old and during the interview shared the difficulties he has to face at the club because of his age.

4. Presentation and Analysis of the Data 4.1 The function of the restroom in the club scenes Within the research it was crucial to find out what kind of atmosphere one can come upon in the restrooms of the club. Apart from that, it has been necessary to investigate the ways females actually interact in the restroom. A main target was to identify what role the restroom plays in the lives of the female participants. Observations and interviews have clearly disclosed that the club life is not restricted to the main dancing area only or in front of the bars. There are many female participants that would choose to stay quite long in the restrooms of the club. The observations that were carried out at the restroom have provided me with the opportunity to get a closer look at the life and inner issues of the female participants. In such cases the restroom was used as a place for observation and analysis on the behaviour of females who were either residing at the restroom or were not even participating in the club scenes. Here everybody was integrated in that relaxed atmosphere and at the same time the restrooms served as a gossip corner where females talked about male participants in the club, their looks and behaviour. Many female visitors choose to withdraw to the restroom just for the purpose of communication with other women and never even used the toilets. The restrooms of the clubs often remind the atmosphere of a coffee shop for females start chatting although they might have never met before. Interviews with useful informants were possible and come to prove that the restroom is thought of as a place where one can be heard and understood by other females. The restroom often functions as a consultancy center. Women are willing to share private details of their lives, worries, issues and seek advice from the others. The sofas provided in the restroom of the Domus Club create a “living room” atmosphere. Most women would sit to rest their feet. It was evident that despite the fact that

the visitors did not know each other, there were no barriers. Girls would go straight to their problems and worries and would gladly share with someone who is ready to listen. Topics about sexual experience and feelings, about lovesickness and disappointments are freely and openly discussed. Women would also talk about the inconvenience and anguish of misplaced love, hurt feeling, and rejected love. In the Mocats and the Slide Club the atmosphere in the restrooms was similar. Besides, the restroom was perceived by many female visitors of the club as a safe haven, a place where to get away from intrusive men. Issues many women share is the dislike they feel towards the way most men try to approach them. In many cases the male participants in the club scenes cross over physical barriers and go for an intimate contact and this hardly appreciated by most women. Many women who have drunk too much alcohol have to visit the restrooms because this is the only available place to rest and recover. On the other side, other females often take care of each other. The restrooms in the clubs are often identified as places where the appetite of sensation is appeased as females often observe others who are sick and need help and are in a bad physical and mental condition. In addition, the restroom is a vanity fair – women would pose in front of the mirror or in front of each other and would discuss the shape and condition of their bodies.

I will also concentrate on the created category looking for love. There are females who elaborate on the difficulties in finding an appropriate partner at the club scene. Women who look for love at the club scene criticize others who live for the moment. During my interview with my informant Nina she stated that that one of the reasons to attend the club scene was her willingness to find a serious partner. While expressing her anticipations she also questioned the actual existence of true love and her doubts whether that is something to be found in the club. At the same time she started observing the females in the club and making remarks on their behaviour and categorizing them as girls who were only looking for a short-term adventure and not particularly love. Nina classified the club scene on one hand as a place where one might find love and on the other hand she classified the visitors, who she actually did not know, as people looking for some extreme thrill only. A conclusion can be summarized that the restroom serves as a place where females tend to judge others, and generalize. However, there females who want to have fun only and enjoy themselves and would not go any further in search of love. Other females visit the club scene to recover from lovesickness and love issues and simply need somebody to listen to their shared problems. In Clara’s case the club was not a place to look for love, it was not a place to find a partner; she attended the club with a broken heart and opened to other females in the restroom as she

started to speak about her past love experience with her roommate. Another category that I would like to investigate is: the function of the club communication. The category was formed through the interviews I took from some of my participants at the restroom. Participants talk about and share their work experience and taking dramatic decisions in life. The category took its shape while I was interviewing Clara who informed about the about the gap year she had taken after graduating school. The communication category took a better shape during the interview with Laura. Laura comes from Canada and studies Accountancy at the Vienna University. She explained that the Erasmus year had made her more open-minded towards others. In the past she was limited to her country’s culture only and coming to Europe opened her to new cultures, friends and mentalities.

In the coffee house atmosphere at the Domus Club my attention was caught by one of my future interviewees. Her behaviour was quite unusual and that is probably why I got so intrigued in her. Clara was sitting on restroom sofa with crossed legs and was reading a book. She had dark hair, neck length; she was wearing jeans and a suitable white blouse. Her skin was pale and her lips were highlighted with red lipstick. She was wearing flats, rather looking like male shoes. Clara was turning the book pages with one hand; in the other hand she was holding a cigarette. She looked peaceful and calm, almost making no other movements apart from turning the pages. She looked like a girl resting in a coffee shop, but reading a book in the restroom of a club was really interesting. However, she turned out to be a communicative person because she started having small talks with other girls, entering the restroom. It was her to open a conversation first. She asked the other girls if they could offer her a cigarette. Then she started speaking with a girl from Bosnia about the film festival organized in Sarajevo. They exchanged some information about their working and travelling experience. Clara explained that she used to work for the Italian film festivals. Those chats about travelling and working experience usually go with the whole atmosphere in any club. Clara’s British accent was quite easily distinguished. At the same time, I kept wondering what kind of book she was reading because I had almost never come across anybody reading a book in the club. Finally I asked her what kind of book she was reading and she showed me the cover. It was a book by Elfriede Jelinek, “Die Klavierspielerin” / “The Piano teacher” but Clara was reading the English copy of the book. Clara explained to me that there was something special about the plot of the story of the Jelinek’s book and the book was important to her for she somehow associated her present situation and life with the story she was reading. It was quite obvious and it became even clearer during the interview that she was least in the mood to

actually participate in the club scene. It could be assumed that the music played in clubs is not always to everybody’s liking. In addition, she offered her evaluation the behaviour pattern of the visitors in the club. Pushing, squeezing in for place was something rather disturbing for her and not seen as one of the advantages of club life. In Clara’s eyes the Domus Club was losing from its general value and attraction as the male visitors did not match her ideas and values on a man’s general appearance and behaviour. During the whole interview she kept analysing the looks of the men and was very critical as to their appearance – according to her they all looked the same and were wearing the same tight shirts. It is necessary to be reminded that the restroom functions as a place where females exchange opinions and ideas, mostly negative and share negative experience with the male participants in the club atmosphere. The restroom serves as a safe haven where visions express openly their views. Furthermore, she stated that males tended to often cross over physical barriers in the club scene and in many cases they would touch females without asking for any permission:

“I´m not really enjoying it. I really hate it; maybe I am not in the right mood, I´m really pissed off by the people pushing. That is not the music I like, the guys are all trying to touch you, they all look the same, and this is so unsexy these tight shirts “.(Clara 5. December 2011:1)

As we got involved into a deeper conversation, with the advance of the interview, it turned out that Clara was actually sitting in the restroom hoping to find a person ready to listen to her and her painful experience with love and her lovesickness. She was offering a clear insight on her private life and opened up to a person who was a stranger to her. This phenomenon – females opening up to strangers in the restrooms is a very common one. The coffee house “atmosphere” soothes and predisposes to such sharing, women feel safe and comfortable and very often one might find a person who can give a piece of advice or has experienced similar downs in life. The main topic covered during the interview was her disappointment with love and how she was struggling to cope with her hurt feelings. The club was a place where she tried to get away from her pain and cope for a while with her horrible symptoms of love sickness. She had come to the club with a female friend from Italy. Clara explained that in the past she had thought of her roommate rather neutrally, but then there was a sudden reverse in her feelings. Clara provided a chronological and detailed explanation on how the love story began and at what point she began looking at her roommate in a different way. The restroom had a rather distinct function for Clara because here she had the chance to disclose a part of

her inner world. During the interview she explicated that one night she went out with her roommate and when they got back to the flat they spent a romantic night together.

“I´m living with an Austrian. He is twenty four years and is working for a hotel. At the beginning as we were living together I didn´t think that he was attractive. I was never thinking about falling in love with him but we got along really well. Then one day we went out together and we had sex”. (Clara 5. December 2011:4)

This was a pivotal moment; the conversation went in direction of Clara’s feelings. Clara informed that her roommate behaved in a very romantic way during the night but the next day he was very remote and reserved. “The next day he behaved as if nothing had happened, that was really strange and during the night he said all those nice things.“ (Clara 5.December2011:4) Further, the restroom of the club was used by Clara as a place where she could express her disappointment with her roommate. She was disappointed by the fact that her roommate had changed his behaviour pattern during the next day. In the restroom the behaviour pattern of the roommate was depicted in complete detail. She was trying to understand and analyse the behaviour structure of her partner. The restroom was at the same time functioning as a consultancy center, a place to find someone who might understand the problems and give some advice. She made a chronological and detailed description of specific situations that she had experienced with her roommate, the past was here, alive and lived over and over again. She gave me an insight on the difficulties that prevailed in the relationship, the roommate was described as a very inconsistent personality, because he tended to constantly changing his ideas. Clara expressed and elaborated on her uncertainty and doubts in her roommate’s feelings. There were indications of his permanent swing of moods and thoughts, sometimes he would ask her if they could be a couple and the next moment he would regret his decision. Clara explained that his actions were utterly unpredictable and were often contradictory; she has even given a clear insight on how her roommate reacted in certain situations. Moreover, she was sharing her feelings and view and her position in the relationship. Clara communicated that she had been trying to a find a solution, hoping that the relationship might eventually work.

“Then about a week later, relatives of mine came to Vienna to visit me, I had to take care of their little daughter. My roommate was really nice to the child, we were sitting all together on the floor, painting and drawing things. My roommate kept saying: “Oh I would like to be together with you.” The next moment he just left the room. Then I tried to have a conversation with him to make clear what was going to happen to us. He said: “Well, please don´t stress me out. I didn´t mean the things I said to you.” I started

thinking that he had multiple personality disorder. He is always changing ideas. “(Clara 5. December 2011:4)

In addition, Clara stressed on fact that her roommate has a drinking habit and is into drugs, she expressed her notion that these boys need girls to support them on emotional basis. Clara defined her role in that relationship as a supporter. Throughout the interview it was discernible that she wanted to step out of that supporting role and wanted to set free from the relationship. There were many difficulties to do so. Regardless of the fact that she was fully aware of the unhealthy relationship she had, she was still deeply emotionally involved with her roommate. Clara was worried that the relationship would cause loss of balance in her life; she stated that the relationship had a devastating impact on her life.

“I know that he is drinking, sometimes too much and taking drugs. I think these kinds of boys need these girls as a supporter or whatever but it is really destroying for me if I keep doing that.(Clara 5. December 2011:4)

Clara added that she had taken definite steps in order to cope with the difficulties in the relationship. She needed some emotional and physical distance, time on her own from the whole tension of the situation, which had been exhausting and quite upsetting for her for quite a while. She had decided to find a way out of the whole burdening situation. Clara told me that she has left the flat in a cloak and dagger operation, taking a bag only with some of her belongings and Elfriede Jelinek’s book. The Elfriede Jelinek book and the other things she packed into her bag had a huge emotional value for her since she associated every single item with the love story that she had experienced with her roommate. Her aim was to be no longer confronted with the problems and to overcome the lovesickness, but she had no clear vision and direction where she actually wanted to stay. Then Clara decided to take a train – randomly chosen direction and in her case it was Bratislava. Her travelling was not planned she did not even know in what hostel she was going to stay. To overcome the confusion, the pain, the sickness of love, she started going for walks in the city of Bratislava. She shared that going for walks helps in similar situations, clears the mind and gives a good perspective from a distance.

“I just left in the night. I arrived in Bratislava I didn´t know where I to stay. I took a taxi; the taxi driver asked me what hostel I wanted to stay at. I answered that I didn´t know any hostels and asked him to take me to any hostel. The next day I went for a walk in Bratislava on my own. It’s always good to do such things when something like that happens.“(Clara 5. December 2011:11)

The next day Clara’s roommate texted a message, she acted spontaneously and gave way to her anger, and texted back that he was the most terrible person ever. During the interview she clarified that in such situations one often tends to write or say things without actually meaning them.

“My roommate texted me, I answered him that he was the most terrible person. I didn´t really mean it but you know I was really angry with him. In such situations one often writes things without meaning them. “( Clara 5. December 2011:11)

Clara’s purpose was to make her roommate aware that his behaviour was not appropriate; she was trying to find ways to change his behaviour. She was in a sense punishing her roommate, and that punishment was her spontaneous trip to Bratislava without informing him and then sending him a rude text. The last punishment was when she decided to stay at a friend’s flat. However, was as much punishment as a way to escape the confrontation.

“If I leave things and allow him to act that way he does, he will always be doing that to me. He’ll think everything is okay again. The last couple of days I was staying at a friend’s place.“ (Clara 5. December 2011:13)

She was as well questioning the maturity of her roommate, and came to the conclusion that he was behaving rather immaturely even though he was twenty-four years old. The restroom was recognized by Clara as a place where others were consultants and would show some empathy towards her issues. The restroom was used as a place where one can think and discuss with others how to behave and act when she eventually meets her roommate in the future. Another important aspect was that topics on sexuality and feelings were debated in a very open way. And the place was again the restroom: Clara stated that she could not have sex without having any feelings for her partner, and that it was out of the question for her to react with apathy way once having been intimate with a man.

“My roommate is twenty-four years old; shouldn´t he be a little more grown up. I can´t have sex without feelings. I cannot act in an apathetic way. I have no idea how to act when I see him again. “(Clara 5. December 2011:15)

The restroom is a place where general values and morals, crucial in a relationship can be discussed. During the interview Clara clarified what parameters and values are crucial for a relationship if you want to make it work. She talked about another relationship she had in the past and the loss of balance she suffered coping with her feelings. In that relationship in the

past Clara had found herself in a completely different position. Her partner had been ready to do everything for her, but she had not felt ready and willing to answer his feelings. Clara elaborated on her understanding of the values in a relationship; she did not want an obedient partner who would come back whenever she was felt like seeing him, who would let her get away with everything, and at the same time she did not want to feel guilty because she could not force herself to feel the same for him.

“You know, before I was together with another Austrian. He was doing everything for me but I think it isn´t fair to stay with a person if you don´t have the same feelings for him. You get bored after a while if somebody is doing everything for you. I´m not looking for that. I don´t like the feeling of security that you can do anything you want and the be aware of the fact that the person will always come back to you, no matter how wrong and what wrong you have done. Actually, I split up with that Austrian guy because of my roommate. “ (Clara 5.December 2011:15)

It can be a further added that the restroom functions as a place where life stories are told, Clara spoke about her experience with people during her one-year stay in England. My interviewee started to reflect upon the different phases of her life such as the working experience she had in London. At the beginning she spent most of the time with Italian people but after a while Clara decided to give up the segregation.

“After I finished school I didn´t know what to do, so I decided to take a gap year. I lived in London for a year and that’s why I can speak fluent English. While I was in London I spent most of the time with Italians. I was living with Italians but then I stopped with that. I started working in a coffee shop and then moved to a vintage shop.“(Clara 5. December 2011:18)

There are other situations that come to demonstrate that the restroom is used as a place where females reveal a lot about their private life and it does not take long to open up. When I started my observations at the restroom of the Domus Club, a girl with light blond curly hair and a body-lined mini dress came in. She was holding a glass of alcohol in her hand and asked me: “Entschuldigung hast du eine Zigarette.“ I replied:“Ich habe leider keine“. Then she asked the other girls who were sitting on another sofa and were relaxing with their shoes off to rest their feet. However, they did not have any cigarettes to spare. She decided to sit next to me and said: “Ich muss so aufs Klo“. I answered: “Ich kann auf dein Glas aufpassen während du auf die Toilette gehst. “Oh das wäre wirklich nett. “ Nina left her glass on one of the table, comfortably positioned next to the sofa. When she returned back to the sofa we started the interview. During that conversation, another usage of the restroom could be noted. For Nina

the restroom was very important because here she could talk about the language barriers she faced in Austria. Nina’s native language is Polish and she was continually struggling to overcome the language barriers. Nina is an Erasmus student and is studying at the Translation University of Vienna. She complained that she often met hostility and came upon conflict situations when she asked an Austrians to speak standard German.

“Es wird für mich so schwierig sein Deutsch in Österreich zu lernen. Die meisten Österreicher sprechen einen Dialekt. Es ist für mich wirklich schwierig. Ich bin gewohnt ein perfektes Deutsch zu hören. Als ich sie gefragt habe ob sie nach der Schrift sprechen können haben sie mich gefragt ob ich deppat bin.“ ( Nina 12 .December 2011:25)

Nina was at the Club with a female friend of hers to celebrate the birthday of a male friend. During the interview she asked me if all Austrian men were asshole. “Warum sind die österreichischen Männer alle Arschlöcher? Weißt du ich will die wahre Liebe finden.“(Nina 12.December 2011: 25) It was more than obvious that she was strongly opposing the way Austrian men treat women. The restroom of the Domus Club was again used as a place where the behaviour of the male participants was scrutinized, discussed and argued in detail. The restroom at the Domus Club for Nina was a brand for a tribune where she could share her opinion and judge Austrian men. In Nina’s case the restroom in the club again had the function of a place where female visitors look for someone to listen and to their concerns and someone to share with, someone to show empathy towards their problems in regards to specific subject matters. Nina wanted to be heard by other female participants in the restroom. She needed an audience to hear about the difficulties she faced in finding true love in the clubs. During the interview she brought up the question whether she was right or wrong in her hopes to find love. Nina had had a very unpleasant and bitter love experience with Austrian men. That is why she classified them as assholes, categorisations and generalisations with regards to Austrian men were stated. Nina evaluated Austrian men as unworthy and partners, a woman should never trust.

“Die polnischen Männer sind anders als die Österreichischen. Wenn die polnischen Männer mit einem Mädchen zusammen sind schauen sie nicht andere Mädchen an. Die Anderen existieren nicht für sie. “( Nina 12.December 2011: 25)

She shared her view that Austrian men were completely incapable in sustaining a good relationship. She also stated that Polish men would pay attention to one woman only and would be interested and devoted entirely to her. Nina’s perception was that for a Polish man

no other woman exists apart from his own girlfriend, Polish men were described by her as more trustworthy than Austrian men. The restroom was here used as place for investigation on the behaviour of Austrians compared to Polish and the way both representatives of different nationalities would treat a woman and how they would sustain a stable and secure relationship. During the interview explicit examples were given, illustrating the negative experience she had lived through at the Viennese club scenes. Nina shared that she was once at the dance floor of the Domus Club when she was suddenly approached by a stranger and asked to join a threesome. Nina stressed on the fact that his girlfriend was standing right next to him. Nina was really afraid that she was an object of segregation and underestimation on behalf of Austrian men because of her ethnic background. Nina expressed her preoccupation with what seemed to be a fact for her that Austrian men are prejudiced with respect to Polish women.

“Warum sind die die österreichischen Männer alle so direkt einmal war ich auf der Tanzfläche. Ein Junge hat mich gefragt ob ich einen Dreier will. Ich meine seine Freundin ist neben ihm gestanden. Warum hat er mich das gefragt ist es vielleicht weil ich Polin bin? Denken die österreichischen Männer so über uns? Die polnischen Männer würden nie auf die Idee kommen auf so eine Weise zu sprechen.“(Nina 12. December 2011: 27)

She then concluded that Polish men would never ask such direct personal of sexual matter and differ in their behaviour pattern in comparison to Austrian men. The actual reason for Nina to attend the club was that she was looking for a serious relationship; she was strongly against the moment-centered behaviour in the club atmosphere. She was about to give up the idea of finding the right partner at the Domus Club. Nina was concerned than there were actually very few men in the club who were looking for something more than a one-night stand. The restroom of the club can also function as a place for discussions on chances to find love. When we were almost at the end of the interview, a girl with short, brown hair, trainers and jeans entered the restroom. Nina greeted her: Hello. The girl greeted her back. When the girl had closed the door of the toilet Nina said:

“Ich bin so in ihren Freund verliebt. Ich war mit ihm einmal im Mocats Club er ist ein Arschloch, aber trotzdem liebe ich ihn so sehr. Er ist Spanier. Ich habe auf Facebook herausgefunden dass die beiden zusammen sind, sie ist auch Spanierin.“(Nina 12. December 2011:28)

So, it becomes quite apparent that the restroom can also be a gossip corner, a place to talk about other peoples’ behaviour, life, and manners and at the same time to carry out observations on other females and share these observations with others. Nina saw two girls who were standing in front of the mirrors and were fixing their make-up. One of the girls was putting rouge on her face. Nina pointed at the girl that was putting rouge on her face and murmured:“Ich glaube das hier viele Mädchen nach Sex suchen. Diese Mädchen suchen nur nach Sex. Ich suche aber nach einer richigen Beziehung. Glaubst du ich kann hier Liebe finden?“ (Nina 12. December 2011:27)

After a while the main entrance door of the restroom opened and a corpulent-built girl with curly hair walked up to Nina and announced in a very dominant tone:

“Was machst du hier ich habe die ganze Zeit im Club nach dir gesucht und jetzt sitzt du hier, ich werde zur Garderobe gehen und auf meine Jacke warten. Ich werde dort auf dich warten. Nina reacted: “Okay aber ich werde jetzt nicht kommen. “ (From the field- diary Location/ Domus Club 12. December 2011)

Nina informed me that was the girl who has accompanied her to the club. When I left Nina for a few seconds to go to the toilet I noticed that a blond girl had started a conversation with Nina. This was yet another proof that the communication level between strangers in the restroom can be determined as very intensive and lively. They were talking about the difficulties a foreigner might face in understanding the different kinds of Austrian dialects. Nina shared with the girl that Austrians often told her she was stupid when she asked them to speak standard German. The blond girl was silent for a while and then answered with astonishment: “Wirklich sie haben solche Dinge gesagt. Aber auf der Uni sprechen sie schon nach der Schrift oder? “ Nina answered: “Ja auf der Uni sprechen sie schon nach der Schrift.“ At about four o´clock in the morning the three of us were walking up the stairs to collect our jackets from the cloakroom. The blond girl informed me that she was originally from Salzburg and that she was studying Business. The girl was highly motivated about her studies and shared: “Das Studium ist wirklich sehr interessant ich kann nur jeden raten dass zu studieren. “ When we reached the cloakroom there were many people waiting for their jackets, girls were holding red roses in their hands, given to them during the night at the club. While Nina was waiting for her jacket, she noticed the Spanish girl who she has seen in the restroom earlier that night. Nina asked her: “Where is he? Why isn´t he here tonight?“ The Spanish girl answered with a smile on her face: “Tonight he stayed at home.” Nina commented with a sad

tone: “I have been once out with him at the Mocats Club“(From the field-diary Location/ Domus Club 12. December 2011). However, it must be pointed out that not all females would stay in the restroom for more that few minutes. Some girls would stay for a relatively short time and leave. Not all girls feel the need to talk or reveal much of their personal life or views.

Laura, an interviewee from the Domus Club explained that she visited the club in order to get to know new people. Her purpose was to enjoy the club atmosphere and have fun. The participant did not choose to stay in the restroom as long as others did since she was mostly attracted to the club life outside and the events, going on at the dance floor. Laura is originally from Canada and was doing an exchange year in Austria. She was studying Accountancy at the Vienna University. Most definitely she did not visit the restroom to share and she was not involved in clubbing to find a partner. She underlined the fact that she had a boyfriend back in Canada. Laura used the restroom to talk about the new experience she had gained in Austria. During the interview she stressed on the fact that the exchange year helped her alter her attitude and views in respect to other cultures and people. Before she came here, for her Canada had been the center of the world. She had not been very much interested in other cultures except Canadian. However, upon arriving in Europe, she had started changing into a more open-minded person and had managed to make friends with people from all over the world.

“ I don´t really speak German. I´m taking the courses in English. I am studying Accountancy at the WU. I come here alone and made friends with many people. I´m here to have fun its exchange I only have two more Mondays left. I have a boyfriend back in Canada. I´m here to dance and have fun. I wanted to have fun and get the most of the exchange. I live in a dorm and it’s an international one. What is really good I became more open-minded. Before I was only thinking about my own country. In Canada I was only with people from the French part. I had to learn English because I am from the French part. I never had any friends from other countries. Now I have friends from everywhere. I became more open- minded and aware that there are other parts in the world apart from Canada. “(Laura 12. December 2011:30).

A further look has to be taken at the participants who felt attracted to the restroom in order to judge and analyse the behaviour of male visitors in the club scene. There was a situation at the Mocats Club when two girls had chosen the restroom of the club to chat undisturbed about a young man, who used to be involved in a relationship with a female friend of theirs. It comes to prove that the restroom functions as an opinion and information exchange centre. At the same time the restroom can serve as a gossip corner where one can freely judge and analyse

the behaviour of the male participants in the club. One of the females had dyed blond hair, her skin was very pale, and she was wearing a knee-length skirt. It could be easily noted during my observation she had a very strong accent, which was an indication that German was not her native language. Her female friend had dark hair; she was wearing a white blouse, a skirt and boots. Both were about nineteen years old. They started to chat close to the exit of the restrooms door that the ex-boyfriend of a friend of theirs was trying to flirt with other girls in the club just to make their friend jealous. Further they stated that the girl did not care in the least and his attempts to make her feel jealous were in vain because the girl had already found a new boyfriend. At the same, time one of the girls kept saying that she felt sympathy for him and it was a pity he had to go through such measures just to get back the attention of his ex- girlfriend. After the short chat and the thorough analysis of the behaviour of the male participant they decided to head back to the dance floor for they found the restroom too cold. In order to attain a deeper insight on the conversation, I am going to provide a short extract from my field-diary.

The girl with the dark hair hair said: “Er will sie eifersüchtig machen in dem er mit ihren Freundinnen flirtet.“ The blond girl answered: “Aber ich glaube das ist ihr schon wirklich egal weil sie hat ja schon einen neuen Freund.Es ist ihr auch egal ob er schon eine neue hat.“ The girl with the dark hair continued: “Er hat mir gesagt dass er der Arme ist aber er versucht mit uns flirten. “ “Er tut mir schon leid. Es ist aber jetzt schon einand halb Jahre her. Komme jetzt gehen wir wieder zurück es ist kalt hier.“ (From the field-diary: Location Mocats Club, December 2011).

In addition to all functions of the restroom, discussed so far another important function is yet to be added. Females would often pose in front of the mirrors and chat about their figures. There have been several situations when girls would stand in front of the mirror and discuss disapprovingly on their looks for that particular night. On other occasions women would talk about methods to stay fit, how often they tend to visit the gym. There was this situation at the Mocats Club when three female friends were standing in front of the mirrors placed above the sinks. The females started to touch each other’s stomach muscles, they were posing in front of each other and the mirror, showing off how well trained-their stomach muscles were. One of the girls who was wearing a turquoise skirt went to such extremes: straining her stomach muscles and informing the other girls that there was hardly any detectible difference between her strained and loosened stomach muscles. The girl in the turquoise skirt explained to her female friends:

“Ich mache echt viel im Fitness Center und gehe dort zwei Mal hin, einmal pro Woche gehe ich laufen und man sieht da fast keinen Unterschied wenn ich anspanne. Habe echt ein schlechtes Gewissen weil ich heute ausgehe und alle anderen zu Hause sind aber ich habe bis jetzt alles für die Uni hinbekommen, echt Schade dass heute so wenig los ist. Der Professor bewertet Romanistik ziemlich streng .“Ich habe alles geschrieben was er wollte und er hat mir einen vierer gegeben und meiner Freundin einen Fünfer. “(From the field-diary: Location Mocats Club January 2011)

There were further insightful situations observable in restroom of the Mocats Club. One evening as I was entering the restroom of the Mocats Club, I saw a girl with dark blond hair who was resting her head on her knees. One could hardly see her face. Two girls went up to her and started taking care of her and talking to each other: “Sie braucht unbedingt Hilfe“. One of the girls looked for the sick girl’s mobile phone and started dialing her boyfriend’s number. When the boy picked up she started talking with approaching, dominant tone: “Ich kenne dich zwar nicht aber deiner Freundin geht es nicht gut komme bitte. “ After a couple of minutes a young man came into the restroom and said: “Maus, komme wir fahren nach Hause.” He was supporting his girlfriend at the side of her back in order to stabilise her, since she could not walk alone. Suddenly more and more girls started gathering in the restroom and observing the whole situation and asserted: “Ah du bist der Freund.“ Although he seemed rather worried and preoccupied with the condition of his drunk girlfriend it was clearly detectible that he was enjoying the attention he was receiving from the female observers in the restroom. He kept having a quick look at the other female participants that were gathering in front of the mirrors or had just entered the restroom (From the field-diary: Location: Mocats Club, February, 2012).

Observations carried out in the restroom of the Slide Club give a clear idea that here the communication level between the female participants was very intensive and rather similar to the atmosphere in the restrooms at the Domus and the Mocats Club with a similar behaviour pattern demonstrated by the female participants. Here the females would gather to fix their make-up and straighten their outfit. There was this certain memorable situation: one night I was standing in front of the mirrors positioned above one of the sinks, when a girl in a tight short black dress caught my attention. She was standing right next to me and was fixing her dress and then she took some toilet paper and started filling in the low neckline of her dress and explained ironically: “Ah ich liebe es. jemand hat mein Kleid angeschüttet.“ In a short while the restroom door opened and her friend came in. She was wearing a mini lacy dress. It was relatively easy to be integrated in the club scene through small talk and chat in the

restroom. I gave the impression that I was fixing my hair because I did not want to look suspicious and I was aware I should not allow anybody understand I was carrying out a research. A blond corpulent-built girl was standing at the side of one of the mirrors and was observing with admiration the girl in the dark mini dress and then asked: “Kommst du eigentlich recht oft zu diesem Club? Seid ihr beiden eigentlich Freundinnen.“ The girl in the dark short dress answered: “Wir sind eigentlich nur eine Klo Bekannschaft.“ The corpulent- built girl complemented the girl in the black mini dress: “Ich muss sagen ich finde deine Schuhe wirklich wunderschön. “ The girl answered in a very confident manner: “Naja wer schön sein will muss leiden. “ It could be further observed that the girl in the black mini dress and her friend in the lacy dress were willing to use the restroom as a place where they could freely talk and judge and gossip about others, which they did while adding a touch to their clothes, make-up and while brushing their hair. The blond girl in the lacy dress said to her friend:

“Bei uns auf der Uni gibt es eine asiatisches Mädchen sie ist eher unauffällig aber ich bin davon überzeugt dass sie eine Pornodarstellerin ist.“ Her friend laughed in reply: “Wirklich du musst sie auf facebook adden. Kennst du diesen einen Burschen aus Linz er ist heute hier und ist so ein möchte gern Model. Weisst du er hat mich gefragt ob ich abgenommen habe, da hätte er doch gleich sagen können dass ich füher nicht durch den Türrahmen gepasst habe.“ - “Ja den kenne ich und sein Freund der sieht so aus als ob er in einem Keller eingesperrt gewesen wäre.“( From the field-diary, location: Slide Club, ,December 2011)

There have been many situations at the Slide Club where one could identify the restroom as a place women would choose to use as an escape zone. Females often choose the toilets and similar facilities to get rid of intrusive men who try to upset or disturb them. Here the restroom serves a “safe haven”, a place to protect the woman from unpleasant and upsetting situations. There was this specific occasion, when two women made a direct use of the restroom as a “safe haven” to get away from the intrusion of men. One night I noticed two slim, blond, tall females, who were dancing together at the dance floor of the club. They were about thirty years of age, both were wearing much too heavy make-up and both were dressed in accordance with the regulations of the club – tight mini dresses and boots. The two females enjoyed considerable attention on behalf the male visitors in the club. The male participants were closely observing the two females from the standup tables, placed on the side of the dance floor. It did not take long before men dared approach them. The two females were not exactly delighted with the fact that they were being constantly disturbed, they would spare only few minutes to speak with their admirers and eventually decided to escape the nasty 67

situation. The two females walked up the staircase leading to the restroom. Every time the male participants in the club started behaving in an obscene way they retired in the restroom. During the whole evening they had to walk up to the restroom so as to get their peace and run away from the offensive approach of most of the interested men. Later they withdrew from the dance floor and sat at bar hoping to restrict the undesired approach of men and get less attention. Their tactics did not work out because soon after they sat at the bar a group of four males wanted to invite them for drinks, the two women refused and again went up to the to the restroom. It was evident that the females had come to the club to enjoy the dancing atmosphere, their aim was not to be approached by the male participants and they were not looking for any kind of communication or relationship with men. At the end of the evening the two women started dancing provocatively in order to wall up against the male participants in the club. I had a look at their hands and noted that both of them were wearing wedding ring. Although the two females kept rejecting every single approach, a male interviewee named Erwin indicated that these women with no doubt were simply looking for a short adventure. He commented in a sad tone: “Diese beiden Frauen kommen für mich nicht in Frage sie suchen nur nach Spass. In der heutigen Zeit wird ein Ehering nicht einmal mehr ernst genommen. “(From the field diary/ Location: Slide Club 9. February 2012)

4.2 Moment-centered behaviour Observations and interviews have exemplified that the club serves the purposes of for some participants as a place where they can live for the moment. There are no physical barriers between the participants. The members that behave at the spur of the moment would go for capturing and living up their sexual desires with a stranger. These sexual intentions are pursued in the field or shortly after leaving the club. The club is often considered to be a place where fast satisfaction of sexual needs can be met. Relationships based on physical communication are often started and unfortunately lead to nothing but a momentary satisfaction of the needs. Linda, an interviewee from the Mocats Club informed that a sexual partner can be found very quickly and easily but in most cases that would be a one-night stand. “Es bilden sich hier schnell Paare ab ungefähr eins oder zwei Uhr. Sie sind oft eher nur auf das Eine aus, sie suchen eben nach einen one night stand.“ (Linda 11. January 2012:69).

The dance floor often offers a view to your future sexual partner and serves as a place to approach him or her. Certain participants would immediately identify the club as a place where short-term adventures can be started. The relationships serve the purposes of one-night

pleasure only and are seldom directed to any future perspective. The participants go back to their routine life and would usually take necessary steps to breaking up the contact with the other person they had a physical contact with the night before. The communication – mostly non-verbal, between the individuals lasts short and within the limits of the night. Hence, the next day the everyday life takes over the emotions from the different “other world“of the night and all is left behind and easily forgotten. The sexual partner is then treated as a stranger the fast developed intimacy shared during the evening and the night is transformed into rejection in most cases. A total shift in the behaviour pattern can be observed with most such cases. It is very easy to drift into the world of sexual desires, especially in the club, where the atmosphere preconditions entering a world rather different that the world “above”. Sexual intentions and desires are the focal aspect of the moment-centered behaviour with the consequences left out of the field of consideration for the night. However, the next morning the spirit of the club atmosphere fades away, the participants regret their moment-centered behaviour, which seemed so alluring and exciting the night before.

On the other hand, the club provides a tribune and a stage for participants to live up to their dreams and play the part of their dreams on that stage. The participants immerse into a “reality” which is entirely different from everyday life. People would give in to their dreams, and the club is the place, because routine does not provide the spirit the club does and people would experiment anything new, anything different. If one has set the sexual satisfaction as a goal, finding the right partner for those needs is easy and takes no time at all. People do not really need to get to know each other. The person who they would have a sexual-based relationship with may not be exactly an object of selection since the main interest is focused on the physical component. In most cases participants who show indications of acting at the spur of the moment do reverse their behaviour pattern in everyday life and vice versa.

Besides, the so-called peer pressure plays a crucial part with the moment-centered behaviour pattern. It has been identified through the aid of interviews and observations that participants at the club try to impress and influence the desired sexual object. People would usually start with entertaining and involving each other in a funny and animating dialogue that would lead to crossing over the physical barriers. The participants would use steps like convincing each other to go for a one-night stand or to kiss.

The category: The club functions as a place where a role can be played will be here discussed.There are participants who have chosen to play a role and appear in a different image, quite remote from the role and image they choose to play in the everyday life. To some extent the participants make use of the club scene as a place where they can immerse into a different reality and live out their fantasies and in the daily life this might not be possible and that is usually the case. The phenomena could be observed in detail and recognised while carrying out the interview with Martin – a participant from the Domus Club. The interviewee revealed that he began playing a certain role when attending the club scene. He went into detail about a particular situation when once he got into physical contact with a woman who was a complete stranger to him. Although he enjoyed the fact that he could step into a world where sexual desires can be fulfilled, he had certain expectation after spending a night with the girl. The club scene served as a place where my participant drifted into a different world where he consciously neglected rules and enjoyed doing that because he knew that routine life could not offer him such perspectives. I have witnessed situations where females would amuse in kissing as many men as possible. They would take joy in using the chance to drift into a new reality and to live for the moment. However, there are participants who do not want to drift into any illusionary world. Erwin shared his disapproval and expressed his failure to understand some of his female friends who would wake up every morning at somebody’s bed, and that somebody in most cases would be a stranger. A female participant Jenny says she starts playing a role the moment she enters the club scene. She elaborated on a previous sexual experience with a stranger she met at the club. The next day the club spirit faded away and she regretted her behaviour as soon as her everyday life and image took over the emotions and came into conflict with the experience from the previous night. “Looking for love” category was deeper investigated during the interview with David, a participant from the Domus and Mocats Club. He shared that he was looking for a girlfriend but he had come to the conclusion that clubs are not the right place to find a suitable partner.

The interviewee, called Martin, was a visitor at the Domus Club. He is thirty years old and is originally from France and studies International Business Administration. He states that the visitors of the club scenes often tend to cross over physical barriers and accompany home the person they got to know during the evening. During the interview it became obvious that Martin assumes the position of an observer. Martin was well attracted to the club atmosphere because it gave him the chance for detailed observations on other people’s actions. At the same time the club is often defined as a place where people go in search for sensations and

show, the appetite for sensation is the motivating force for most observers. The role of the visitors can often go through transformation – from observers they can easily become a part of the action and from passive participation step into the role of directly involved in whatever is going on in the club. In Martin’s case, he was trying to adapt to the general behaviour pattern at the club scene. On the other hand, Martin used the club to carry out his observations on how the two genders approach each other. Here, it is important to point out that at the club scene the partners are often changed and that is a common practice. This is yet another indication that the moment-centered behaviour pattern is rather typical for the club scenes. There is a vast choice of flirting partners and visitors would commonly move around from one acquaintance to the next and do not feel they have to stay with one person all. Martin:

“Es geht hier ziemlich schnell zur Sache. Einmal habe ich beobachtet dass ein Mädchen einen geküsst hat und sie ist sofort mit ihm nach Hause gegangen. Ein anderes Mal habe ich beobachtet dass ein Mädchen einen Jungen geküsst hat, dann hat sie beschlossen einen anderen Jungen zu küssen und ist dann wieder zu den ersten Jungen zurückgekehrt. Andere Male habe ich beobachtet dass ein Mädchen getanzt hat, da ist ein Junge hinter ihr gestanden und hat sie von hinten angetanzt.“ (Martin12. December 2011: 36)

The interviewee was trying to exemplify that the physical component often stood in the center of the club atmosphere. There are no established behaviour rules to be observed by the participants at the club scene, since most act for the moment with no regard of the future or the future consequences. Besides, Martin provided me with some insight of his own sexual experience in the club. He went on about a girl, who approached him and specifically stressed on the fact that the woman had taken the active part in the whole communication process.

“Ich habe einmal getanzt und da dreht sich ein Mädchen um, und sie fängt an mich anzubaggern. Ihre Freundinnen waren mit knutschen beschäftigt also hat sie mich angesprochen wir haben ein bisschen getanzt und sind dann raus gegangen, um zu sprechen, dann sind wir schon sehr weit gegangen es war nicht nur rumknutschen. Sie nimmt mich dann bei der Hand und bringt mich zum Mädchen Klo. Der Kloputzer war leider dort, er hat uns gebeten raus zu gehen. Dann sagt sie mir gehe raus und warte draußen. Dann weiß ich nicht ich habe etwas getrunken, ich kannte sie vielleicht eine Stunde. Sie ist dann zurückgekommen und wir sind aufs Männerklo gegangen. Leider ist es nicht zu einem Ende gekommen, weil der Kloputzer immer wieder geklopft hat. Im Männerklo waren wir dann tatsächlich dabei und ich habe mir gedacht dass Mädchen so etwas machen, für mich war es das erste Mal dass ich so etwas erlebt habe.Dann wollte sie dass wir Vodka trinken nur ich habe schon einiges getrunken.“(Martin12. December 2011:41)

Martin elaborated on the active role of the female in the whole communication process. He explained that the woman had approached him at the dance floor, taking his hand and trying to lead him to one of the toilets in the club. Further, he reported that the toilet cleaner kept disturbing them every time they were trying to establish a physical contact. Martin was trying to find some kick, a thrill in the fact that he was fully aware he was doing something wrong and forbidden. He tried to think of a plan, a method to struggle against the prohibitions. During the interview it could be noted that he regarded the situation as an interesting point to do something that is not really allowed. In this case Martin acted against behaviour rules and was looking for strategies to live up to his sexual desires. The moment counts, not the consequences. Neglecting prohibitions was recognized by Martin as an exciting factor and in this case we can make the connection to the fact that participants use the club atmosphere to get intimate and establish a physical contact. The club scene for Martin is a place, a stage to play a certain role, different from his role in routine life. The participant uses the club scene as a tool to drift into a different reality, a place to give will and give way and give in to one’s fantasies. The behaviour pattern taken on at club is then taken into the students’ dorm.There were no inhibitions, nor rules; people can feel free and sexually active. Yet, that movement from one reality to another is still quite too far from the everyday reality. Another phenomenon pointed out by Martin, is that the participants exercise certain influence on each other, teasing one another, giving in to the club atmosphere, trying to persuade the potential sexual partner into a one-night stand. Moreover, he emphasized on the influence of the peer pressure factor, so common in the club atmosphere, when one has to meet the expectations of the group and act up to them.

“Sie hat auf Russisch ihre Freundin überredet dass sie ihre Bekanntschaft abschleppt. Die beiden Mädchen haben sich ein Zimmer im Studentenheim geteilt. Ich hatte Sex mit dem einem Mädchen. Das andere Mädchen hatte Sex mit einem Portugiesen. Wir konnten die ganze Zeit sehen wie die anderen gefickt haben. Sie dachte ihre Mitbewohnerin sei prüde. Sie hatte aber drei bis vier Mal Sex mit dem Portugiesen.“ (Martin12. December 2011:43)

The heat of the club blaze would last for one night and the person who one has shared intimacy with and become sexually involved with, is to be excluded from daily routine as soon as the crack of dawn. Martin had a specific expectation after the night with that girl. He was hoping that the contact with the girl would not die out and might intensify, but the girl showed no interest whatsoever, never answered his calls in Skype. Martin tried to find out the reasons for being rudely rejected. Apparently the woman’s aspirations were to find a wealthy man.

“Sie war einen Monat in Wien um Deutsch zu lernen. Ich habe noch immer ihren Skype Namen. Sie antwortet aber nicht. Sie hat mir gesagt als wir ins Auto gestiegen sind um zum Studentenheim zu fahren dass mein Auto viel zu alt sei und dass ich mir ein neues kaufen sollte. Ich habe ihr dann gesagt sie sollte mir ein neues Auto für mich kaufen. Sie hat sich bei mir beschwert dass mein Auto zu alt ist. Das Mädchen hat mich gefragt ob ich arbeite. Ich glaube sie hat nach einen Mann gesucht der Geld hat.“(Martin12. December 201 :44)

Observations have given further evidence that there are participants who visit the club with the idea of drifting into a different reality. There are certain female participants who visit the club just as actors use on the stage. The role they choose however is to get in physical contact and kiss as many strangers as possible. The male objects are not subjected to any selection at all. These young women are inclined to take actions and without any consideration of the future or the consequences of the taken actions towards the opposite sex would go for a moment- centered patter of behaving. At the same time these young women tremendously enjoy the attention, received from the male participants in the club scene. Moreover, they tend to consciously change their partners during the night which leads to the conclusion that it is irrelevant who the partner is as and that could be just anybody. Sometimes, after having kissed a male “object”, they would rudely leave him behind and move to the next with no consideration whatsoever. These females amuse themselves in kissing as many visitors as possible. This observation once more gives an indication of the fact that there is a strong presence of peer pressure amongst the female participants in the club. It can be further stated male participants observe closely the actions taken by these females – the club serving as a place offering free show and sensation. In order to provide some detailed insight on the evening I am going to present an episode from my field-diary:

One evening when I was at the Domus Club, I got in touch with three young men, who asked me to join their group. The three of them were sitting on one of the sofas, placed close to the main dance floor. The three of them were originally from Vietnam and were cousins. One of the participants is called Leonhard and is my future interviewee. Leonhard studies International Business Administration and is twenty-three years old. He explained that they were celebrating one of his cousin’s birthday. One of his cousins was called Thomas. He was wearing a Hip Hop cap and baggy pants and spoke with a Viennese dialect; the third cousin was called Claus. He was relatively small in size and inconspicuous. Leonhard left the sofa for a few minutes to visit the restroom but something had kept him about twenty minutes. During his absence I was chatting, drinking and dancing with the other two cousins. When Leonhard returned to the sofas, he was accompanied by a girl with curly brown hair and announced: “So sie ist achtzehn Jahre alt geworden und muss nun achtzehn Männer küssen.“ The girl did not waste a lot of time and quite too soon she approached Thomas. They hardly exchanged any 73

conversation at all when they started kissing passionately. Without any forewarning she suddenly left Thomas behind and decided to head to the other end of the club. It was noticeable that the girl was relatively drunk as she was stumbling through the party crowd. Thomas’s facial expression was one of confusion. The least he had expected was to be left behind. Then I noticed her sitting on one of the sofas, with two female friends of hers. In about fifteen minutes the girl reappeared with her two female friends. One of the girls approached speechlessly Claus and started kissing him. Another girl from that group started kissing Leonhard. All physical barriers were down and it took literally no time despite the fact that the participants were complete strangers to each other. However, the other girl who had shared intimacies with Thomas in the first place, kept ignoring him. And very soon after the girls’ appearance, they disappeared as suddenly as they came, leaving the young men behind. The three girls started dancing in the middle of the dance floor, enjoying the attention they were receiving from the male visitors of the club. Leonhard kept observing the girls form the distance and then he decided to try and approach the girl who had kissed him. The girl did not respond to his attempts to establish a contact and kept dancing unperturbed. At the same time three other men joined the circle of the three female dancers. Soon after they had joined one of the girls spontaneously started kissing one of the young men, although they had hardly ever spoken to each other. Later two of the young women left the circle and started kissing each other on one of the sofas. Leonhard and his two cousins stood right next to sofa, to get the perfect view to the actions taken by the young women. During the evening while I was interviewing Leonhard, he started hugging me and asked: “ Ist dir das unangenehm“. I answered: “Ja eigentlich schon lasse das bitte. “ The interviewee replied: “ Es tut mir so leid ich will nicht dass man von mir ein falsches Bild bekommt, ich will nicht dass du mich mit etwas sexuellen in Verbindung bringst.Du denkst von mir bestimmt schreckliche Dinge. Weißt du es ist so schwierig Mädchen beim Fortgehen kennenzulernen. Wir könnten Mal etwas gemeinsam unternehmen. Aber du wirst doch dann abheben wenn ich anrufe, weil viele Mädchen heben nicht ab wenn man sie anruft.“(From the field-diary Location/Domus Club 7.2. 2012)

Another case which can be classified as an example of participants’ moment-centered behaviour pattern came to the surface while I was carrying out an interview with Jenny. Jenny is twenty-one years old; she is studying Molecular Biology and is a member of the Slide Club. She was at the Slide Cub with a group of friends to celebrate her sister’s birthday. The interview has shown that the girl is moving between the club scenes, meaning she was linked to more than one club scene. Jenny uses the Slide Club as a place where to deliberate on past club-love experience. She has given an insight on the behaviour pattern that she follows at the club scenes. Jenny talked about the way she had behaved one night when she visited the Mocats Club. Jenny asserted that the morning after her participation at the Mocats Club she had woken up next to a man. She was frustrated beyond control by the fact that she could not remember anything. Jenny kept making use of the word “blackout” in order to give the impression of the whole situation. It was easy to detect that strong moment-centered acting and behaviour had lead to that occurrence since the physical component had played the crucial role of the night events. In addition, she stated that she was no longer interested in meeting the 74

young man. So, it can be itemized that the relationships started between men and women at the club scenes are often meaningless and are basically shallow since those relationships most often lasting one night only. Jenny confessed that she was looking for a short-term adventure at the Mocats Club. This has provided further evidence that the club scene is often used by participants as a place where they can live for the moment and search for adventures and act and behave in a specific way. It can be stated that despite the short drift into a different world the next day she would come back into the reality of her normal activities and the people she has met and been with the previous night at the club would be forgotten and denied. On looking back at the events from the night, Jenny would feel regret and oppose to her own moment-centered attitude.

“Ich war am Dienstag im Mocats Club. Den Mocats Club kennst du? Am nächsten Tag wache ich auf einmal neben einem Burschen auf. Ich habe mir gedacht wer ist das? Ich hatte ein komplettes Black-out. Es ist mehr passiert aber ich kann mich nicht mehr erinnern. Er hat eigentlich eh fesch ausgeschaut. Ich habe dann am nächsten Tag eine Sms von ihm bekommen wie ich die Nacht gefunden habe. Ich habe noch immer nichts geantwortet und ich werde auch nichts antworten. Man darf nicht zu nett zu den Männern sein. Weil nicht dass er sonst glaubt dass ich etwas von ihm will.“( Jenny 9.February 2012 :90)

In addition, it has to be stated that there are participants at the club scene who strongly oppose the moment-centered behaviour structure and subject it to criticism. Erwin is a regular at the Slide Club and the Domus Club. Erwin expressed criticism and irritation towards female friends of his who wake up every morning at somebody else´s place. The interviewee explains that his female friends meet their partners at the Viennese clubs and the “sobering” atmosphere of the day leads to regret and confusion, caused by their own manner of behaving. They would call him on the cell phone to talk. Erwin often played the part of a saviour because he felt somehow responsible to save his friends from the consequences of their own behaviour and decisions.

“Ich habe Freundinnen die jeden Tag bei einem anderen Mann aufwachen. Ich hole sie dann oft von dort ab. Wenn sie mir sagen sie sind gerade dort oder da dann komme ich. Ich kann das auch nicht verstehen , es geht ihnen nur um das Eine sie würden sogar mit 32 Jährigen etwas haben also mit viel älteren.“( Erwin 9. February 2012:103)

He clearly stands aside and does not wish to be identified with the behaviour pattern that other club visitors demonstrate. Erwin does not use the club scene to find oblivion from the daily routine. The interviewee could not be carried away by the thrill of the moment as other

visitors can because he often has certain expectation regarding the people he gets to know in the club. There was a definite behaviour structure that he was convinced of. During the interview Erwin explicated that he could not break up the contact with the woman after spending a night with her. The interviewee further elaborated on the different methods used by men in to achieve short-term love affair with the female participants of the club. He explained that he had male friends who told women all sweet things a woman wants to hear. Women would usually fall for the oldest trick in the world. As soon as men have succeeded in mission “one-night stand” they would rather dump the girl the next day. According to Erwin, that can be classified as sexual abuse of females at the club. He also strongly disagreed with the way men behave in the club. Erwin had no intention of abusing a woman so he clearly dissociated with that behaviour pattern. The interviewee stated that he could never act in such a humiliating manner and he would call the woman on the phone after spending a night with her. The reason why he visited the club scene was because he wanted to spend time with his male friends. His ambition had never been to find a short-term sexual adventure, quite contrary to the intentions of most of the visitors. There are certain behaviour rules and values that the participant is convinced in. He has the clear understanding that his behaviour and values in regards to certain general human issues in life have been strongly influenced by his parents. His parents have been an example to follow and have played the role of providing a real-life model. Erwin’s opinion, stated in the interview is that his parents have served as a perfect rule-book, teaching the basic principles how a woman should be treated.

“Es gibt viele Männer beim Ausgehen sie erzählen einer Frau alles, reden ihr alles vom Himmel und dann wenn sie das Mädchen nach Hause nehmen lassen sie diese am nächsten Tag fallen. Für mich ist so etwas nur eine Ausbeutung. Ich könnte das nicht wenn ein Mädchen bei mir übernachtet dann würde ich mich melden vielleicht liegt es auch an der Erziehung. Meine Eltern sind seit 28 Jahren glücklich verheiratet und noch immer ineinander verliebt. Ich habe männliche Freunde die Frauen nicht gut behandeln, das fängt schon damit an wie sie mit ihnen reden. Ich glaube dass die Erziehung schon eine Rolle spielt, vielleicht bilde ich mir das auch nur ein.“(Erwin 9.February 2012:102)

Another interviewee, named David also criticizes the moment-centered thinking and manner in the club. The interviewee was sitting with a group of female and male friends on the sofa at an immediate proximity to the dance floor. Two of his male friends were standing behind the table opposite the sofa and were smoking water pipes. David is twenty-one years old, and is studying Business Administration. He has short blond hair and that night was wearing a T- shirt and trainers. It can be stated that he is a mover between the club scenes because he visits the Domus and the Mocats Club. David evaluated the behaviour patterns of the female visitors 76

within the club scenes as highly dissatisfactory. During the interview he argued that the females were looking for a short-term adventure only, and very seldom for a relationship. Moreover, he opposed the general interactions taking place between the visitors and the way how relationships were started. He disagreed with the idea of looking for a one-night flirt or sexual experience and disapproved of the shallow and meaningless communication between the participants. David firmly stated that he was not interested in momentary pleasure and airy acquaintances. His aspiration was to find a relationship and sustain it at some deeper emotional level. He also disapproved of crossing over physical borderlines and that it happened quite too quickly. The interviewee argued that there was hardly any chance of slower and deeper getting to know the potential partner: the participants often start kissing each other despite the fact they hardly know each other.

“Ich weiß dass die Mädchen die hier her gehen nicht nach einem Freund suchen, die meisten suchen nur nach etwas für eine Nacht. Auch im Mocats Club ist das so. Ich habe das gemerkt weil man einfach nicht mit ihnen reden kann, sie wollen gleich mit einem tanzen, küssen oder eben mehr. Ich habe lieber eine Freundin als nur so etwas für eine Nacht. Man kann hier keine Freundin finden das ist unmöglich.“( David 12 .December 2011:33)

David associated the Mocats and the Domus Clubs with short-term relationships, mainly based on few exchanged lines between the partners and one-night stands. In addition, he also expressed his disapproval of the behaviour of the women at the club scene and the way they approached men. The interviewee pointed out that it would be impossible to find a girlfriend in a club. Without any doubt he associated the girls in the clubs with short-term relationships – an example of classification. An interesting point was that women visiting the Mocats or the Domus Club were classified as women looking for a momentary satisfaction and a short thrill. He had experienced a sudden swing of attitude and of behaviour pattern: he had most unexpectedly lost the joy from attending in the club scenes. David specified that he used to visit the Clubs twice per week but then he stopped regarding the club as an attraction point – his expectations had not been met. He longed for a girlfriend, for a real worthy relationship. However, the club scenes for him were most certainly not the place to look for any of those.

“Ich bin zwei Mal die Woche ausgegangen dann habe ich das Gefühl gehabt dass ich nicht mehr will. Ich wusste dass ich nicht mehr ausgehen will weil ich nach einer Freundin suche. Ist das nicht schlimm ich suche nach einer Freundin.“ (David 12. December 2011:32)

This conversion on the behaviour pattern has been ascertainable in Ludwig’s case. Ludwig is twenty-four years old and a regular participant at the Slide Club. He works as a mechanic and has chosen the club scene in respect to the music played. Throughout the interview Ludwig expounded that he preferred places where house music was played.

“ Ich bin Kfz-Mechaniker und komme aus Neusiedl. Meine Lieblingsmusik ist House Musik. Ich gehe auch extra auf Partys wo House Musik gespielt wird. ( Ludwig 10. February 2012: 107)

The interviewee gave a clear insight on his behaviour structure which he used to follow in the club scenes. Ludwig’s main tool for the evening was to approach the woman physically. In most cases, not to say in all, the women were unknown. The next day these women were treated by him as strangers, he was not further interested in maintaining any relations whatsoever. The interview revealed that he felt like drawn into a different world at the very the moment he entered the club. Ludwig actually wanted to sustain the familiar behaviour pattern which allows relationships mostly based on a physical contact. His main intension was to find a woman for the night, he did not want to intensify the relationship and burden his life with a girlfriend. Ludwig shared that he got to know his future girlfriend in a well-known techno club and as a matter of pure coincidence it turned out they had met before. They met accidently at a house concert of the well-known DJ David Guetta. Ludwig described in detail the moment the girl caught his attention. The participant puts it as if something had clicked inside him. This precise incidence was the first sign that a conversion on his views and general visions was about to occur. Even though there was a kind of transformation and a coming change in the air, his objective still remained quite the same and the behaviour had not shifted from its moment-centered pattern to a different pattern. The relationship was not future directed, he wanted to keep it not complicated, unemotional and airy. Ludwig still wanted to keep the physical component in the core and classified his future girlfriend as a potential one- night stand. Ludwig actually did not want to keep in contact with the girl after spending a night with her. However, there was a drastic shift in his general behaviour pattern when slowly the couple got involved into an actual, deeper relationship. The relationship was further preserved as she used to text him and stayed a couple of times overnight with him at his flat.

“Ich war einmal in einem Club da bin ich meiner Ex Freundin zum ersten Mal aufgefallen. Ich habe sie aber nicht gesehen. Ich hatte mit der einen die mich in den Club begleitet hat einen one night stand, also mit der Bettina. Als ich dann ein zweites Mal alleine den Club besucht habe hat mich meine zukünftige Freundin angeredet und

gesagt dass sie mich letztes Mal im Club mit der Einen gesehen hat und ob da noch etwas ist. Wir haben aber nicht Nummern ausgetauscht und dann bin ich sechs Wochen später oder so zu einem David Guetta Konzert in einem Club gegangen, das war im Jahr 2009. Da ist sie plötzlich vor mir gestanden und es hat klick gemacht. Wir haben dann noch viel miteinander geredet, und auf der Tanzfläche miteinander geknutscht. Sie hat dann gesagt dass sie mich nach Hause fährt ich habe ja keinen Führerschein gehabt der ist mir ja zu von der Polizei weggenommen worden. Als wir zu Hause bei mir angekommen sind haben wir geredet, gekuschelt und uns geküsst. Eigentlich war mein Ziel dass mehr passieren würde. Ich dachte wir würden uns einfach nicht mehr sehen. Wir haben auch Nummern ausgetaucht ich wollte eigentlich keine Beziehung das war nicht die Ausgangsposition. Aber sie hat dann immer öfter bei mir übernachtet.Es wurde dann daraus eine Beziehung.“(Ludwig 10. February 2012:109)

The whole interview gives two different perspectives: he described the club as a place to look for short-term sexual thrill and on the other hand the club was the place where girlfriends can be found and where he found his girlfriend. “ Ich habe meine Freundinnen eigentlich immer beim Fortgehen kennengelernt.“(Ludwig 10. February 2012:112)

4.3Approaches set by men towards women There are different tools used by males to impress women within the club atmosphere. Here for instance some male participants use symbols of social and financial status to impress the other gender. In some cases men set up as a preliminary purpose to visit the club in order to get in touch and find a woman. For the targets of my investigation with respect to the ways men approach women at the club scenes, I have sometimes used my position as “a prey”, as a desired object. Furthermore, the male participants at the club scene often support each other in finding a suitable partner. Here male friends would speak highly of each other before the woman in order to impress her with their friend’s qualities. It can also be stated that there is often a good reason why men would choose to approach a woman in one way or another.

The club scene often serves as an attraction point for males who are heartbroken and long to find a way to escape from the nagging pain of rejection. In this case friends may play a crucial role – they will try to cheer their broken-hearted friend and provide him with the sense of a new and fresh perspective.

Apart from that, the atmosphere of rivalry between men in the club can be well sensed in the air. So, apart from supporting and praising each other’s qualities, men can also go to the other extreme – speak badly of other men’s qualities and stress on theirs in order to place themselves in a better position and get more chances with the desired object. A female

participant elaborated on the high level of rivalry between women attending at the club scenes, too. The rivalry between women comes down to give another woman a bad look when she is seen as an obstacle in finding an appropriate partner. Another aspect of the male-female communication is that male often tends to categorise women. Specific clubs are defined by males as places where it is easier to approach women in comparison to other clubs. The Mocats Club and the Domus Club are defined by males as places where it is quite unlikely to find a long-term partner; these places are often associated with short-term relationships or better defined as adventures or sexual thrills. It is also crucial to look in detail how males react when rejected by females. In some situations the male participant would react in an offensive way.

Another factor that has to be taken in account is the age of the male participants and its relevance to the success or failure of their attempt to approach a woman.

In addition, it is important to investigate in what ways females react and how they respond to the attempts of the males to approach them and what approach seems to work and what – not. A female interviewee argues that male approaches to women are highly related and dependent on the specific club scene. The Mocats Club is described as a place where males do neglect physical barriers and try to establish a physical contact quite too soon, whereas the Slide Club is defined as a setting where males do not usually place the physical component in the center of the communicational process. In addition, the club is a setting where males speculate about the personalities of the female visitors. One male interviewee speculates if the female participants experience a behaviour swing as soon as they go back to their normal or private lives. Male interviewees often play with their fantasies before actually approaching the woman.

I am going to look at the category which took shape during an interview with Sebastian, a participant at the Mocats Club. The category is: The club scene as the right place to get over an ex-partner. Some participants try to get some comfort and distraction from lovesickness and rejection. Friends encourage and comfort the person who is in pain and needs moral support. During the interview with Sebastian he explained that he was visiting the club with a group of male friends. The reason they had come together was their desire to help and distract their male friend from his lovesickness and to show him new perspectives. Sebastian emphasized on the fact that he attended the Mocats Club with his friend because according to

him it was the right place to find a short-term enjoyment or relationship based on physical attraction. However, that club scene was not assessed by him as the right place to find the right long-term partnership or a deeper relationship.

Clear identifications of approaches used by men in the club are provided through my observations at the Domus Club. One night I decided to sit on one of the sofas and the waiter ordered me to leave the place because it had been reserved by a group of young men. As I was leaving the sofa I noticed a group of four young men who were headed to the place where I was sat and took their places at the reserved table. The waiter brought cold sparkling wine to their table. I noticed that the young men who had excluded me beforehand started to observe me from distance. Suddenly, a young man from the group walked up to me and established first approach. He was wearing a white ironed shirt; his hair was dark-blond and fixed with gel. It can be further detailed that he had a very straight posture. The young man is called Markus. He is twenty-one years old and studies at the Economics University. He asked me in a confident tone if I would like to join the group for a drink. The sparkling wine is a “pull” tool, a “catch penny”. During the covert interview it became obvious that my interview partner made use of different methods to impress the opposite gender. He made use of his father’s position and reputation and he wanted to receive attention at any cost. Markus was speaking about money and his career prospects, emphasizing on his prestigious status. What he was trying to do was show off by exposing his better side. His opinion was that his value with respect to women would rise if he spoke about status symbols such as work, money, education, future perspectives and his father’s reputation. He explained that his father owned vast shares of a well-known car company located in France and Austria. Markus’s father informed him that the starting salary when he starts working at the company would be 7000 Euros. The young man was having doubts of the use of continuing with his education because it would make no sense to study at the University provided he could take on a well-paid job at his father’s company. He elaborated on the question if I would take 7000 Euros salary per month or if I would choose to continue studying at University.

“Meinem Vater gehören große Anteile von dem L. Auto Konzern. Kennst du das oder? Es gehören ihm große Anteile in Frankreich und Österreich. Er hat gesagt dass der Anfangsgehalt 7000 Euro ist, da habe ich mir die Frage gestellt ob es sich auszahlt dass ich mein Wirtschaftsstudium mache. Da habe auch eine Pause mit dem Studium eingelegt und dann wieder angefangen. Ich meine würdest du dich für 7000 Euro entscheiden oder das Studium?“(Markus 16.January 2012 :46).

Further, he asked if I would prefer to meet a bin man or somebody who earned 7000 Euros. The interviewee added that he already knew the answer. “Würdest du dich eher mit einem Müllmann abgeben oder jemanden der 7000 Euro verdient ich glaube die Antwort weiß ich bereits.“ (Markus16.January 2012: 47)The men that were working at the L. car company were regarded by him as role models. He was deeply impressed by the things they had achieved in life. Markus wanted to follow his idols and was thinking low of himself because he had not achieved the things his idols had. These people were something he looked up to, an example how he should arrange his life and achieve his goals. “Wie ich bei dem L. Auto Konzern war habe ich mir gedacht dass diese Männer schon viel erreicht haben und was habe ich erreicht?“( Markus 16. January 2012: 48 ).

Money was being used as a symbol of social status, he was trying to impress the female gender with materialistic things but at the same time he wanted to point out that he was well educated. These methods he used to present himself in a positive light. He thought of these factors as crucial if one wants to be noticed and appreciated by women. At the same time the interviewee spoke low of other working sectors. Thus, he distinguished his own social and financial position. Markus was very much hierarchy orientated; it was a part of his proven and working method to impress a woman. He had that idea that women were impressed by wealthy men only. At the end of the interview he stated:

“Wenn du denkst ich bin ein Oarschloch brauchst du nicht meine Nummer nehmen. Wir schauen dann nachher noch in den ersten Bezirk wenn du mitkommen willst. “(From the field-diary, Location: Domus Club, January, 16, 2012).

After a while Markus returned back to the reserved table and then one of his friends came up to me. His friend told me that they had known each other since secondary school. During the conversation I could not help noticing that Markus’s friend kept speaking highly of him: “Schaue du bedeutest ihm wirklich viel wenn er mit dir spricht er mag dich, setz dich doch zu uns nachdem du dir deine Cola geholt hast. “ (From the field-diary Location: Domus Club, January, 16, 2012). When I decided to mingle in the club atmosphere I suddenly saw my interviewee in a corner, leaning against the wall and trying to approach another girl. This observed scene provides once more the same clear insight that at the Domus Club the communication between the genders is fast, intensive, shifting, swinging all the time. Attempts of approach follow so quickly, so soon one after the other.

A young man with dark gelled hair and an ironed shirt come up to me. I had noticed him earlier, because all he had been doing all night was observing females. When he was already in front of me, he said:

“ Du hast wunderschöne Augen. Schau, wir haben einen Tisch reserviert mit Champagner. Ich bin mit zwei Freunden da sie brauchen eine Frau. Ich meine ich habe ja eine Freundin. Du könntest ihnen doch helfen beim Champagner trinken. Warte ich hole schnell den Freund von mir.“ (From the field-diary: Location Domus Club, January, 16, 2012). This is an example of how friends were advertising each other’s qualities. It could be observed that the young man was trying to pair off his friend with somebody. In a while a young bulky bold man, wearing a black suit walked up to me and we started a conversation. He stated: “Ich komme ursprünglich aus Serbien ich habe dort eine Landwirtschaft und Weinberge. Ich organisiere Events im P. Club. Ich kann dich gerne auf die Gästeliste bringen wenn du willst. “ (From the field-diary, Location: Domus Club, January, 16, 2012).

The young man was trying to impress the opposite gender through using symbols of position and status to increase his chances. He was constantly on about the things he possessed.

There are as cases when females have the role of a supporter: they pair off their male friends with other women in the club. Linda is twenty-one years old and is studying Sociology and is a regular visitor at the Mocats Club. During the interview she explained that she often visited the Mocats Club with a group of male friends. Linda assists her male friends to easily get in touch with the female visitors. The girls react in different ways when Linda performs her function as a supporter for her male friends and helps them establish a first approach. The women would decide whether the men have any chance or not. The reactions of female visitors depend on whether the females would find the men attractive or not. Linda specified that women either react very openly and positively or ignore the men. Further, Linda points out the savage rivalry between the females, participating at the Mocats Club. Linda leans on her own experiences when talking about competition between women: she often finds herself in a most unpleasant position – other girls start giving her bad looks when somebody approaches her. The interview and experience have shown that it might be rather difficult to interact with other girls in the club scene as they keep assessing the other females as potential competitors. Following the high level of negativity between women in the club, a girl would rather dissociate from other women. Girls tend to express their disapproval and disappointment when another female gets more attention than the rest. The dissatisfaction is obvious in expressions in their eyes – usually anger. Girls who are more often an object of approach and attention are given angry looks and ignored. Women tend to develop bitter 83

feeling of jealousy and envy. In most cases the target in the club is to find a suitable partner and that aim can become rather difficult to achieve in the presence of another female.

“Es ist hier eine sehr hohe Rivalität im Club. Die Mädchen schauen sofort komisch wenn man angeredet wird. Die Mädchen hier sind Feinde untereinander man sieht dass an den Blicken. Frauen werfen eine komische Blicke zu wenn man angeredet wird. Ich rede mit allen ich rede auch Mädels an wenn ich mit Burschen Freunden unterwegs bin. Wenn ihnen Burchen gefallen sind sie nett, wenn nicht reagieren sie abweisend. ( Linda 11. January 2012 :67)“

The phenomenal men rivalry is easy to indicate and observe at Mocats Club. One night when I was at the club, a man started speaking badly of his opponent, hoping to increase his own chances. One night at the Mocats Club I was standing at the side of one of the bars next to the dance floor where a young slim man wearing glasses come up to me and started ordering some shots for us. The man was twenty years old and had been working as a civil servant, and during the conversation explained that he would like to become a doctor one day. The young man was staying in Vienna for one night in order to visit the Mocats Club with a male friend and a female friend of his. It was relatively difficult to attain further information since the informant explained that he was not willing to reveal detailed information about his private life. As the conversation went on, a young man came quite out of the blue. He was relatively tall, with dark hair. He was well-built. He introduced himself as Fritz, a student at the Boku University and originally came from the South Tirol. Fritz was walking, talking and behaving very confidently and demonstrated certainty in his qualities. He said: “Du bist ja ein wunderschönes Mädchen, kannst du Spanisch sprechen. “(From the field-diary, Location: Mocats Club, 19. January 2012) He informed me that he was fluent in Spanish and Italian, a demonstration of knowledge often used by men to attain attention. It can be said that he was in some sense speaking highly of himself and advertising his qualities as a man. Seeing a potential sexual object in me, he started circling me and kept saying that I was beautiful. That is how he established his approach. The opening sentence of the approach is very important and it is up to the woman to decide whether she should fall for it or not. Fritz took a critical look at the young man, standing next to me and stated most arrogantly:

“Warum redest du mit ihm sonst es kommen doch sicher trainierte zu dir und sagen hey und du stehst mit ihm. Er bringt dir sicher Frühstück ans Bett .Naja so etwas wollen die Frauen nicht sie stehen auf Arschlöcher.“(Fritz 19. January 2012 :74)

The phrase comes to exemplify that Fritz looked upon the other man as somebody who cannot attract females. Fritz wanted to gain a better position in the competition and present himself in a more positive aspect by talking badly of the other male opponent. He made him look ridiculous and was mocking at him. He put the other male participant in a certain category – a man who would prepare the breakfast for the female. Here it can be recognized that the other man was classified by his opponent as a toe dipper, he was consciously looking down at others. Fritz was convinced that females are more interested in men who behave in a less obedient way. Further it turned out that Fritz would put females into categories, too. He undoubtedly believed that certain women were approached by trained and experienced men only. He was curious to know and could find no explanation why a woman like me would start a conversation with a man who was obviously not as trained and experienced as him. This situation comes to illustrate the type of rivalry and competing between male visitors at the club scenes. Besides, Fritz informed me that the main purpose of coming to a club would be to get to know girls. Before coming to the club scene, he decided with a friend of his to go hunting for girls. So, they had set a target. They were participating at the club scene but they were already following a certain goal. Fritz approached females systematically and was strictly following the plan, chasing his goal, pursuing his prey.“Wir sind da weil ich mit einem Freund ausgemacht habe dass wir heute Mädchen kennenlernen.Das ist unser Ziel ich habe heute schon mehrere Frauen angeredet.“ ( Fritz 19. January 2012:74).“ During the interview he said: “Okay jetzt kann ich dich aber küssen. “ ( From the field- diary Location: Mocats Club December 2012) His actions gave me a clear indication that Fritz was most interested in carrying out the set aim to the end and to do it as fast as possible, taking every risk, using all tools.

On the other hand, it can be stated that male participating at the scenes often set clear distinctions between the women in the club. The categorization of a woman would most certainly influence the male’s decision whether the woman is worth the attempt or not, whether the woman should be approached or not. There are clear but delicate sets of tools to categorize the women participating at the club scene. The first questions that most often intrigue the male participants in respect to choosing whether to approach her or hot are: How drunk is the woman? Is it possible to touch the woman? How does the woman respond to other approaches? My experience as a pursued prey has given me some clear evidence on the latter statement. One evening while I was carrying out observations at the Mocats Club I felt somebody touching me from behind. I panicked and turned around. There was a young man

behind me who said: “Oh ich sehe schon du gehörst zu einer anderen katgeorie Frau.“ (From the field-diary Location: Mocats Club December 2011). His words came as a surprise to me and I asked: “Was meinst du damit ich gehöre zu einer anderen Kategorie?“ Naja weil du dich nicht gerne angreifen lässt.” ( From the field- diary Location: Mocats Club December 2011)Some male participants state that the Mocats and the Domus Club are not the right places to find a girlfriend. There are male participants who visit the Mocats Club on purpose; they share the opinion that it is the right place to recover from lovesickness. These male participants visit the club scenes, convinced that their attempts will be answered by the female participants.

The element of distinguishing, recognizing a certain category of women could be also noticed during observations and interviews at the Slide Club. An interviewee called Sebastain, twenty-one years old, studying Economics, was visiting the Mocats Club with a group of male friends. The reason Sebastian had decided to visit the Mocats Club was because one of his friends had split up with his girlfriend. His male friend decided to travel from Salzburg to Vienna and get away, get some support and forget for a while about his lovesickness issues. The club scene in this case was functioning as a place to find a substitute for his girlfriend and to abolish the lovesickness problems for one night. The male friends had a particular role as they were trying to cheer the heartbroken young man up. The club scene was recognized as a place to look for and open new perspectives for their male friend. The target of the friends in this case was to look for a new girl for his friend at the Mocats Club. The Moctas Club is considered to be a place where short-term adventures can be started, women here are categorised by Sebastian as very open but not suitable partners for a serious relationship. The Slide Club is identified by Sebastian as a place where women are more selective than those at the Mocats Club. According to Sebastian the selective behaviour of women largely depends on the club scene.

“Wir sind heute hier mit einem Freund,weil seine Freundin sich von ihm getrennt hat, vielleicht findet er hier eine neue. Er ist extra nachWien gekommen, normalerweise lebt er in Salzburg. Ich habe bemerkt dass die Mädchen im Slide Club wählerischer sind. Ich glaube nicht dass der Mocats Club der richtige Platz ist um jemanden kennenzulernen.“ (Sebastian 7. December 2011 :63).

One of interviewees does not agree that women at the Slide Club are selective. Max is twenty-four years old and is working for an economic office. He was visiting the club with colleagues to attend a Christmas party for the staff. He argues that males who have difficulties 86

in approaching women at the Slide Club are doing something wrong or their tactics is badly chosen. Max informed that he had been to the Slide on many occasions and his target was to approach as many females as possible and emphasizes on the fact that he would often go a home with a girl from the club. This is an example of a clear ascription towards women as the interviewee pointed out that most of the women participating at the club scene can be defined as easy to be approached.

“Ich habe hier immer gut Frauen aufreißen können. Hier sind viele Schlampen. Leute die Schwierigkeiten haben hier Frauen aufzureißen müssen mit ihrer Taktik etwas falsch gemacht haben.”( Max December 2011:123)

A clear evidence that the Mocats Club was identified as a place where women can be easily accessed is presented in my interview with Peter. Peter is twenty years old and is studying Law – third semester. The interview was taken at one of the standup tables in the Club. It must be detailed that alcohol also plays a significant role and contributing to the whole club scene as manners give way to openness. Under the influence of alcohol Peter becomes more and more open and speaks his mind. The participant was well aware of the fact that his general behaviour pattern was subjected to changing as soon as alcohol stepped in. The interview partner thought of alcohol as a beneficial factor because under its influence he got rid of many of his restrains that normally tended to block his approaches to females. The behaviour swing can take place quite too quickly because alcohol at the Mocats Club is very cheap.

“Ich studiere Jus im dritten Semester. Ich bin hier her gekommen um Mädchen kennenzulernen und um zu trinken. Der Alkohol ist hier sehr billig, da ist einiges einfacher man ist offener.“( Peter 7.December 2011:65)

One evening I was standing at the side of the main dance floor of the Slide Club. A rather bulky man, wearing a black suit walked up to me. Observations had given me the indication that most of the time he had been standing his own, quite secluded from the main dance floor, leaning against the wall of the club with a drink in his hand. His name is Johann. He is twenty- five years old and works for the Vienna Insurance group. That night Johann was visiting the Club with two of his colleagues as there was a Christmas party organised by his company. During the interview he stated that there are different kinds of women. He shared his opinion that women tend to lose a lot of their charm the moment they get drunk because they are no longer conscious of their actions their words. It shows that the participant divides women into two categories: drunk and sober. Drunk women are not regarded seriously by the participant

because they are not aware of their own behaviour. The participant has given a clear clarification on the fact that he would always lose interest in a woman if she has drunk too much. Drunk women are not seen as worthy partners. “Es gibt verschiedene Frauen sind sie betrunken verlieren sie viel. Die machen ja dann irgendwas ” ( Johann 15.December 2011:84).

During the same evening I interviewed Andreas, originally from Munich, who had been studying Business Administration in Vienna for the last two years. He, too, was participating at the Slide Club at a Christmas party with colleagues. Andreas is working at the reception of a maternity clinic in Vienna. During the interview he pointed at a girl. She was wearing a lacy dress and stood close to one of the bars, right next to her was standing a man who was obviously trying to approach her. They were drinking wine and chatting. From time to time she would lean against the bar table. It was obvious that the club scene was used by Andreas as a place to carry out observations. The visitors of the clubs were being observed and are analysed in detail, he kept explaining how they were interacting with each other and how they behaved. The behaviour of the females in the club was analysed with best precision as well as the ways they were interacting with the male visitors. Andreas turned my attention to specific groups or categories of girls moving about the club scenes. Women were classified by Andreas into certain categories. He explained that there are women in the clubs who like to be called “baby” and others, who do not. While he was observing the girl in the lacy dress he commented on the category she most probably belonged to. According to him she was one of those girls who like to be called “baby”. The second conclusion Andreas made was that she was visiting the Club in order to look for some self-assurance. Then he made the conclusion that she would most probably escort the man to his flat and stay overnight. Andreas shared the opinion that the girl was looking for attention from the male participants in order to increase her self-esteem and confidence. Here assumptions were made: Andreas believed he knew the reason why the girl was participating in the club scene.

“Ich habe sie den ganzen Abend beobachtet. Sie war auf der Suche nach jemanden. Schau solche Mädchen stehen drauf wenn man Baby zu ihnen sagt. Die meisten Mädchen haben dass aber nicht gerne wenn man sie so nennt. Ich glaube sie hat dass für ihr Selbstbewusstsein gebraucht dass er sie anspricht. Ich glaube sie ist nur wegen der Selbstbestätigung hier her gekommen. Ich sehe keinen Nutzen warum sie mit ihm nach Hause geht. Es gibt so viele Mädchen die sich dann so benehmen. Sie sind sehr arm. Man bekommt sicher nicht auf diese Art einen Mann.” ( Andreas 15. December 2011:84)

Joel, twenty five years old is a repeater at the Domus Club. He sometimes works as a DJ at a well-known students club in Vienna and also works as a hairdresser. During the interview he expressed his disapproval of other DJs taking advantage of their position in order to get easier access to females. He criticised other DJs for believing that they were something special and extraordinary. The reason why Joel works as a DJ is his passion for music. Women, wearing miniskirts and walking up to the DJ’s stand to speak with the DJ are immediately classified by him as “cheap” women. Miniskirts and mini dresses, he thinks, are distinguishing features, argumentative enough to place a woman within a certain category. Joel clearly sets apart his private life from his work. However when he attends the clubs as a guest and not as a DJ, his goal for the evening is to approach females.

Schau es ist gut einen DJ zu kennen. Man kommt auf die Gästeliste deswegen sind die Frauen auch so fasziniert. Aber ich bin nicht DJ um Frauen kennenzulernen sondern weil ich die Musik liebe. Aber es gibt DJ die glauben sie sind jemand nur weil sie DJs sind. Aber es sind immer die Schlampen die zu den DJ Pults kommen, dass wirst du ja gesehen haben dass sie immer die kürzesten Röcke tragen. Der Grund warum ich in die Clubs gehe ist weil ich Leute kennenlernen möchte. Ich möchte hauptsächlich Frauen kennenlernen. Aber wenn coole Burschen im Club sind mit denen ich mich gut verstehe dann ist das auch in Ordnung für mich. Verstehe mich aber nicht falsch ich bin nicht schwul ich bin an Frauen interessiert. (Joel 5. December 2011: 22)

A further matter that has to be investigated is if males follow certain method or use certain techniques to approach females at the club scene. The interviews reveal that there are male participants who use specific means and follow certain steps in their approach without crossing over the physical barriers. Moreover, it is crucial to find out if males are selective and go for a specific kind of woman. In addition, it is essential to investigate if the age of the male participants has any impact on the possible response of the females when approached by men of different age groups.With respect to that it important to establish whether certain participants are put in unequal position in the club with regards to their age. In addition, my target is to reveal how male participants in the Club Scenes react and feel about being neglected by the object of their desire. One evening while I was passing by the sofas at the Mocats Club I suddenly heard somebody saying: “Würdest du gerne etwas trinken?“ I turned and saw two young men that were sitting together on the sofas, their arms tattooed all over. In just a short while an insightful interview had already started. Stefan is twenty-two years old and works for a video and computer game shop. His friend Raphael is a tram-driver. The interviews were taken on a covert basis. The observations and interviews have provided a clear insight on how a male-female approach is started. Raphael explained that girls should

not be approached by men directly. When they participate at the club scenes they do respect physical barriers and that is the easier way to approach women. A commonly used tool is to start a conversation with a girl who is passing by the sofa. As a second step they would ask her if she would like to drink something. The physical component is evidently left out. “Wir versuchen nicht so direkt mit Mädchen in Kontakt zu kommen, sowie dass mein Freund bei dir gemacht hat so machen wir das. Aber wir versuchen das nicht mit tanzen.“( Raphael 18. January 2012:81)

During the interview Raphael brought up an interesting issue. He was concerned if girls would find him attractive enough to start a flirt with him outside the club, in everyday life. The interviewee expressed his worries that women did not find him handsome. He thought he had been rejected by women because of his looks. Since I did not respond to his attempts to approach me and the target was missed, he became offensive and rude. Another consequence of my unwillingness to react the way he wished me to was that he started underestimating me as a woman and told me I would never find a partner in the club. He then concluded that we had nothing in common. There was a total swing of his behaviour due to the fact that his aims in finding a flirt partner could not be met. Being the object of his attempts and having rejected his approaches, I was depreciated and insulted because of his hurt pride and lowered dignity.

“Treff ma uns morgen oder gefalle ich dir nicht oder was? Du wirst keinen Freund finden. Bist du eine psycho Tante du fragst einen so viel du solltest dich selbst therapieren bevor du andere therapierst. Schaue dich in den Spiegel und rede mit dir selbst. Du machst mir Angst du redest anders als ich wir passen nicht zusammen.“ (Raphael 18. January 2012 :82)

Ludwig was interviewed at the Slide Club. He explains that he approaches a woman when she possesses a certain charisma. Before approaching the woman he would also have a close look at her fashion style because it goes with the charm of the female. According to him there are different kinds of approaches to attract attention from the women participating at the club scenes. A first step for a successful approach is to commence a conversation with the woman and offer gentle compliments to her. Moreover, the interviewee offered his insight on his fantasies when discerning a woman in the club scene. He elaborated on the subject: a woman might give an impression of a calm and composed personality in the public sphere but in her personal life she might show quite a contradictory kind of behaviour. He usually makes his observations if the behaviour of the woman in the club would match the behaviour she would

demonstrate in her private life. It was evident that the club was used as a place where men can fantasise about women in the everyday life, away from the thrill of the club atmosphere. For Ludwig the club is a place full of challenges where the behaviour of a woman can be observed, revealed to some extent, her personality might open and be subjected to analysis. However, during the interview Ludwig manifested that he was did not count on first impressions. The participant was convinced in the fact that women may convert their behaviour when they move back to the private sphere of their lives.

“Wenn ich eine Frau anrede ist dass wenn sie eine spezielle Ausstrahlung hat, ich schaue dann darauf was sie trägt. Ich rede eine Frau einfach mal an, so wie ich das bei dir gemacht habe oder ich mache ihr Komplimente. Aber man weiß ja nie es kann sein dass eine Frau ganz ruhig wirkt aber dann im Bett wild ist. Das sind eben die Fantasien der Männer. Man weiß es ja nicht.” (Ludwig 10. February 2012: 111)

The issue of the appreciation of a man with respect to his age and the question if an elder man has equal chances to succeed in his approach to a woman in the club can be identified in the following interview: Alexander was a visitor of the Slide Club. He is thirty-eight years old. He works for the IT sector and is self-employed. Alexander takes many business trips to Germany and Switzerland. The interviewee tried to approach me while I was on my own at the dance floor. When we started the interview, Alexander explained that he was only following the aim to approach a woman but he would not usually select a specific type. Further difficulties he faced when participating in the club scenes came from younger visitors who reacted quite weirdly. In many cases he suffered the feeling of being rejected by the younger visitors of the club. He was not able to participate full-heartedly in the club life down to his age. He also expressed the desire to be younger in order to be better integrated into the club atmosphere. There were other difficulties, this time in respect to approaching women in the Club since he was much older than most of the female participants. The participant was constantly afraid and embarrassed to approach women in the club and his fears were quite understandable bearing in mind his rather bitter experience related to his age and the way younger women reacted to his approach. He further talked about the negative reactions from most women when being approached by him. There was a sense of restriction and age barriers to elder men to be felt during the interview: he was often regarded as an unworthy flirt partner and because of his age he often experienced the feeling of exclusion. In that interview he informed of a certain reaction of a girl at the Slide Club: he had just approached the woman and when he told her how old he was, she ran away.

“Ich muss sagen ich habe dich nicht gezielt angesprochen sondern weil ich eine Frau anreden wollte. Ich bin eher schüchtern. Ich bin mit Freunden hier her gekommen. Ich gehe in den Slide Club um auszugehen und um zu tanzen. Man wird schon auch komisch angeschaut einmal habe ich mit einem Mädchen im Slide Club geredet als sie erfahren hat wie alt ich bin ist sie weggelaufen. Das war schon ein schreckliches Erlebnis.“( Alexander 17. February 2012:128)

Further it is crucial to identify how females feel about the approaches of the male participants in the club. Jenny, a female interviewee is twenty-one years old, a Molecular Biology student. She was interview at the Slide Club. Jenny stated that the approaches men use tend to differ with respect to the specific atmosphere in the club. The interview partner exemplified that the approaches men use at the Slide Club are more cautious, reserved and measured and the physical component is not in the center of the communication. Men always use an opening line or an opening conversation for the purpose of establishing first verbal contact. Questions most commonly asked by men at the Slide Club are: “What is your name?” “How are you?”,while at the Mocats Club these opening lines and small talk in approaching the woman are neglected and skipped. Here the physical component well occupies the focal point of the communication: men often start dancing with women in a provocative way. The physical barriers are crossed over very quickly because men start touching females all over. During the interview the girl talked about her previous experiences and how she felt about the behaviour patterns of men in the different clubs. She gave a clear idea about the ways and tools men would utilize to approach a woman. Jenny also emphaised on the fact that she preferred the behaviour pattern and approaches used by men at the Slide Club rather than those at Mocats Club.

“Ich habe gemerkt dass die Leute einen hier fragen wie heißt du? Wie geht’s dir? Die Männer stellen sich vor. Im Mocats Club fangen die Männer gleich an mit einem eng zu tanzen. Sie greifen einen überall an. Natürlich finde ich es besser wie dass die Männer im Slide Club machen.” ( Jenny 9.February 2012: 89).

4.4 The Club functions as a place in order to be heard by others Investigations come to prove that for many visitors the club functions as a place where they meet the need to communicate with others about their work experience, personal issues and problems. Moreover, the club scene is used as a place where one can share future plans and perspectives. In addition, a large number of the participants give an insight on their past and present love life. Positive and negative experience resulting from relationships is discussed in detail. One of the participants shares his previous attitude towards relationships, and explained

that he never wanted to have a girlfriend. However, he got involved in a love affair and a conversation about the shift in his attitude took place. The interviewee covers further aspects of a relationship, such as being faithful.

One of the interviewees elaborates on the negative experience he has gone through at the club scenes. The club can be defined as a place where people are given the chance to open up to strangers, to express a part of their emotional world, the story of their lives, their concerns and troubles. We are not talking about a place where young people enjoy themselves and dance only, we are talking about a place with so many functions, the purpose of the club is generally far beyond framing.

Here I am going to give an overview of the following category: Function of the club/ communication. Observations have distinctly shown that the Club often functions as a place where participants tend to speak about their work experience and about taking decisions in life. Moreover, the participants are willing to elaborate on experience through previous relationships. Within the frames of this category I am going to focus mostly on the male participants at the club scene. Two of my informants – Erwin and Ludwig went on about being betrayed in the past by their girlfriends. During the interview they shared their feeling and the state of mind after having been betrayed. Erwin clearly specified that he had come to a stage in his life where he would only look for a woman with similar understandings, views and ideals as his. He would not let himself be carried away by the looks of a woman. Max, an interviewee from the Slide Club talked about the horrible experience when his ex-girlfriend broke up with him. He had decided to become egocentric and not to get emotionally tied to women. Another issue included to the category is that people tend to speak about their negative experience at the clubs. Leonhard, an interviewee from the Domus Club, explained that he visited the club with the only intention to have fun. However, he stated that there are people who attend the club scene to let out their tension and stress and often become aggressive towards other participants. Another interviewee Alexander, a visitor of the Slide Club shared his negative experience at the club resulting from his age. He supported his arguments with detailed information on how women react as they realize how old he is. Magdalena, a female informant from the Mocats Club talked about her future perspectives at her job. The club is a place where people tend to open up after a short period of knowing each other or not knowing each other at all. The atmosphere invites people to be more talkative and give an insight of their private world and thoughts. Topics about rejected feelings, betrayal

and work experience would change one after the other quite swiftly. The atmosphere might also get very emotional. The club scene is not only a place where people drift into a different world and forget about the everyday life and tasks and obligations and troubles. Here, they are given the chance to talk with other people about almost anything that may come to mind – funny, sad, curious, dramatic, ordinary, tearful or hilarious situations to share with somebody. Sharing with strangers happens to be considered by many people as the best way of relaxation and relief.

The interviewee Ludwig was attending the Slide Club in order to share with somebody the difficulties he faced with his latest relationship. In his case the club functions as a place where problems and personal issues can be openly and freely discussed. Ludwig gives a clear insight on the confrontations his girlfriend and he suffered and went through. He further discusses on the obstacles preventing the continuation of the relationship: her working hours did not match his. His ex-girlfriend was working as a stewardess. She would often leave at night to go to work. There was a further conflict development between Ludwig and his ex-girlfriend. He was always willing to leave his mobile phone on the table in the living room, whereas his ex- girlfriend was not willing to do so. Since his ex-girlfriend always kept her mobile phone hidden in the bedroom, he got suspicious. Ludwig expressed his disappointment as he discovered that his girlfriend was texting her ex-boyfriend. At the moment he found out that his girlfriend was texting and meeting her ex-boyfriend the relationship came to an end.

“Sie war Stewardess bei der Niki Airline sie war schlank und hatte blonde Haare. Nur ihre Arbeitszeiten waren immer blöd. Sie ist immer um zwölf Uhr in der Nacht von mir weggefahren um zur Arbeit zu gehen, oder sie ist sogar um drei Uhr früh weggefahren. Es ist schwierig eine Beziehung zu führen, ich habe zu einer anderen Zeit frei gehabt. Sie hat sich dann oft wegen Kleinigkeiten aufgeregt und beschwert. Ich habe mein Handy immer am Tisch im Wohnzimmer normal liegen gehabt, sie wollte das nicht und hat ihres immer im Schlafzimmer gehabt. Da wo die Beziehung schlechter gelaufen ist habe ich erfahren dass sie ihren Ex trifft. Sie hat mir das dann auch gesagt.Ich habe dann auch eine Nachricht gelesen wo gestanden ist: Es war schön dich zu sehen.“ ( Ludwig 10. February 2012 :111).

Another participant called Max shares the negative experience he has been trough in past relationships. He was astounded when his ex-girlfriend put an end to the relationship by texting him a message. The ugly experience of rejection scared him and has ever since had an impact on his future behaviour pattern and attitude towards women. The participant became egocentric to extremes. Max believes he is no longer capable of sustaining a proper relationship. The interviewee has decided to keep all relationships airy, shallow, unemotional 94

and never to get too involved. One day a friend of his stated that he knew a girl that would perfectly match Max. Max, however refused the offer providing his denial with the explanation that he never wanted to be paired off for he did not trust his friend´s opinion. The two of them never shared the same taste in respect to women , therefore Max did not trust his friend´s assessment. However, as the participant’s friend introduced the girl to him, Max reconsidered his decision. In fact, he was astonished to find out that the girl matched his taste perfectly and was to his liking. Both were getting along really well and quite soon the romance started. However, Max he did not follow the pre-set aim to start a relationship with the girl. After spending the night with her, he could not even remember the girl´s name. The next day the girl sent him a text. The participant hoped that she would put her name bellow the text but she did not. The problem was solved when he decided to take the girl to his mother’s birthday party. With that event the relationship between the two of them was intensified. Max shares that his mother has a great impact on the development of the relationship because she asked him to invite a girl to the party. Further, Max tells about his friends’ reaction when he told them he was having an affair, turning into a serious relationship. They were all stunned because Max used to always be confident to extremes that he would never ever get involved with a girlfriend. His friends were amazed and amused by the sudden swing of his general views and perceptions and his behaviour pattern.

“Meine Freundin ist Spanierin ich habe sie durch einen Freund kennengelernt. Ich wollte nicht verkuppelt werden. Ich bin total gegen Verkupplungen. Mein Freund hat gesagt dass er eine kennt, da hatte ich Angst weil wie soll ich das sagen er hatte immer dicke Freundinnen. Ich weiß ich bin sehr oberflächlich aber ich konnte mir nie vorstellen mit einer dicken zusammen zu sein. Dann habe ich dieses Mädchen gesehen ich muss sagen sie war genau mein Geschmack. Ich wollte keine Freundin mehr ich hatte eine sie hat mit mir per Sms Schluss gemacht. Sie hat sich einfach nicht mehr gemeldet. Ich war dann auf einem Ego Trip. Niemand konnte dann fassen dass ich auf einmal eine Freundin habe, weil ich immer gesagt habe dass ich keine will. Ich habe dann angefangen das Mädchen zu treffen nachdem wir eine gemeinsame Nacht verbracht haben. Ich konnte mich aber nach der gemeinsamen Nacht nicht an ihren Namen erinnern. Am nächsten Tag hat sie eine Sms geschickt. Ich habe gehofft sie würde ihren Namen darunter setzen das hat sie aber nicht. Meine Mutter hat eine Geburtstagsparty gegeben und mich gefragt ob ich denn ein Mädchen treffe. Ich habe ja geantwortet, sie hat gesagt ich soll sie auf die Party mitnehmen. Ich habe sie dann auf die Party mitgebracht.“( Max December 2012: 124).

In Erwin’s case it is detectable that he is engaged in participation at the club scene in order to find people to share his work experiences collected abroad. Furthermore, he shares the inconveniences and difficulties of being separated from family and friends. The informant could not cope with the situation because he was constantly missing his family and friends. 95

Erwin also shared issues on having too much stress and responsibilities at work. In addition, he explained that he felt way too young to take so much pressure and responsibility.

“Ich bin aus Holland gelandet, seit Dezember war ich in Holland. Ich bin im Medienprintgewerbe tätig. Wir nehmen alles in die Hand.Ich habe mich einfach zu jung gefühlt um schon so eine Verantwortung bei der Arbeit zu tragen. Ich habe meine Freunde und Familie vermisst als ich weg war“( Erwin 9. February 2012: 100).

Erwin gives an insight on his private issues and life, he narrates about the negative experience piled through past relationships. The interviewee articulates about the betrayal of his ex- girlfriend. Here a certain parallel to Ludwig´s story can be made; the main issue is dealing with situations when one of the partners is deceitful and unfaithful. Erwin shared that his ex- girlfriend used to cheat on him, using the club scenes as a place for expressing her deceitful personality. Any time Erwin went with friends to a club he would consciously establish a borderline towards other women and would remain faithful. The partaker made it quite clear that his ex-girlfriend had a completely different perception and vision on of how a relationship should function. During the interview he stated that he had given his girlfriend a lot of personal space and trusted her and never believed she could cheat on him. When trust was gone and the relationship was ruined, he made a solemn decision to be more careful in the future as far as relationships are concerned. The utterly unpleasant experience he has been through in previous relationships and in particular his ex- girlfriend are exercising a massive impact on his general morals and standards and the entire image of the woman as she should be. The characteristics and the values of a woman, her inner perception of life have taken over her physical appearance. Here, a total reverse of views and perceptions of the woman’s values can be observed. Erwin is looking for somebody whose understandings, character and behaviour pattern would be similar to his. Moreover, he expresses his convictions that the nicer the man is, the more vulnerable he is to woman’s taking advantage of his kind nature.

“Ich habe eine Freundin gehabt und dann musste ich erfahren, dass sie mich mit neun Burschen betrogen hat. Dass war schon ein Schlag für mich. Ich bin dadurch vorsichtiger geworden. Ich habe ihr immer alle Freiheiten gegeben und zu ihr gesagt sie soll ausgehen. Ich bin auch mit Freunden ausgegangen aber für mich war klar, dass wenn ich in einer Beziehung bin betrüge ich sie nicht. Sie hat mich dann betrogen. Ich habe ihr danke für die schöne Zeit gesagt, mehr nicht wir haben keinen Kontakt mehr. Man kann Gefühle auch nicht so schnell abschalten.Weißt du die Netten werden immer ausgenützt. Ich habe auf Firmenreisen schon Frauen kennenglernt, aber das war nicht das Richtige. Ich schaue jetzt bei einer Frau auf die inneren Werte. Die Charaktereigenschaften der Menschen müssen zusammenpassen.“( Erwin 9. February 2012:104)

Leonhard was a participant at the Domus Club. He talked about the previous experiences with friends at the club scenes. He elaborated on an incident when one of his male friends became a victim of violence in a Viennese club. His front teeth were smashed in and broken by a stranger. His friend was a victim of aggressiveness and violence. Leonhard visits the clubs to have fun, to enjoy the music and to meet new people. The interviewee makes it quite clear that there are certain people attending the clubs to look for confrontations and problems. It can be stated that for these people the club scene is as a place where they can steam out and take their aggressions on innocent strangers. Further, during the interview it became obvious that club scene was used by Leonhard as a place where he could give an insight about his values and he went in detail on his point on the ways women should be treated. He opposed the behaviour of Austrian men and the way they are treat a woman. Furthermore, he spoke about his cultural and human values. The participant gave an insight on his understanding on a balanced relationship. Here is his vision on the subject:

“Weißt du viele Leute betrinken sich und machen dann furchtbare Sachen, sie sagen dass es der Alkohol war. Sie verwenden den Alkohol um zu sagen dass sie gewisse Sachen machen. So als ob sie nur wegen den Alkohol gewisse Sachen machen, das stört mich schon. Ich gehe aus um Spaß zu haben und um neue Leute kennenzulernen, nicht um nach Problemen zu suchen. Ich war mit einem Freund zum Beispiel in einem Club und sie haben ihm einfach die vorderen Zähne abgeschlagen. Bei unserer Kultur haben die Frauen den gleichen Wert wie der Mann das ist nicht so wie hier. Man ist ja ein Mensch und jeder Mensch muss gleich behandelt werden.“( Leonhard February 2012:55)

Magdalena is twenty-one years old, she studies Geography and French. When I met her she was visiting the Mocats Club with female colleagues from the Geography faculty. The reason for her participation at the Mocats Club was to celebrate an entrance exam which she had taken successfully with her colleagues at the Geography faculty. The Club was functioning as a place to get rid of the pressure piled up during the weeks of hard work and studying. The club was their treat for the success in the exams. At the same time they were trying to get away from the whole atmosphere of tension and studying and drift into the completely new, relaxing and distracting club life. Their case is an example of a commonly observed group experience since they shared the same worries and anxiety when preparing for the entrance exams and the success that had followed. The participants were related through the same shared experience. The interviewee was even making use of the expression “Geo freaks” when she spoke of her friends: “ Ich bin hier mit meinen Geo Freaks. Wir haben eine große

Einführungsprüfung gehabt. Deswegen haben wir beschlossen, hier zu gehen“(Madalena 11.January 2012: 73). In their case the Club did not serve as a place to meet up with friends and to celebrate the success of the entrance exams only. The club was as well used as a place for observation, criticism and analysis on the behaviour of others. During the interview it was ascertainable that another reason for Magdalena to feel attracted to the club scenes was that here she could use the possibility to gossip about others. The interviewee expressed a negative attitude towards girls who study Law as a first subject and select French as their second subject. She criticized their outer appearance and the way they behaved during the lectures.

“Ich studiere auch nebenbei Französisch. Bei diesem Studium sind dann oft Mädchen die auf dem Juridicum studieren. Sie sind blond gefärbt “ und sitzen dann mit ihren Apple Laptops Sie glauben dass sie alles wissen aber sie wissen dann oft nichts. Natürlich darf man das nicht generalisieren.“ (Magdalena 11. January 2012:73)

Magdalena declared that these girls believed in knowing everything and being special. In fact she expressed her opinion that these girls possessed insufficient skills in French language. She also stressed that these girls thought very highly of themselves and would normally boast and use every chance to show off. Magdalena provided a deeper view into her private life as she shared her targets and her career plans and perspectives of the future. Her objective in life was to pursue a career in teaching. The participant had a clear view ahead. According to her teaching gives a chance to combine career and family life.“Ich glaube ich will dann Lehrerin werde wenn ich älter bin das kann man dan perfekt mit der Familie kombinieren.“(Magdalena 11. January 2012 :73)

However, she pointed out that teaching profession might be a challenge and face her with certain difficulties. She was not sure of how to act and approach children when it comes to teaching. Magdalena brought forth the notion that one has to be very careful not to indulge children too much because they can take advantage of it. On the other hand, she expressed her worries that one should not take on any rigorous measures as the children might react defensively and close up to any approach.

“Ich war ein Jahr Babysitterin in Frankreich. Aber als Lehrerin ist es schwierig da man nicht weiß wie man sich gegenüber Kindern verhalten soll. Es ist schwierig zu unterrichten. Wenn du zu nett bist werden die Kinder dich ausnützen. Wenn du zu streng bist werden sie dich hassen.“( Magdalena 11. January 2012:74)

Stefan is a repeater at the Mocats Club. When I met him, he participated in the Club Scene with a friend of his. He used the interview to talk about his work and life. He gave a detailed insight on his perception on the job and the personal contact with his boss. Stefan informed how well he was getting along with his boss and described in detail how they got to know each other. He explained that it was destiny that had brought them together. The interviewee indicated that he felt strongly attracted to his boss on a personal level and that the business relationship expanded. The personal attitude replaced the dominant role of the business relationship. The employer was described as somebody who took the role of a father in Stefan’s life because he never got to know his real father and was brought up by his single mother. Stefan was looking up to his boss and thought of him as model in life. The interviewee had even started to play the electric guitar as boss had inspired him to do so. He also provided some information on his boss’s life – his boss used to play the guitar in a well- known Austrian band then had decided to open his own video and computer shop. Being acquainted with all details in his boss’s life comes to prove the strong connection between the two of them.

“Ich arbeite in einem Video Computer Geschäft. Ich komme alle drei Wochen in den Mocats Club. Die meiste Zeit spiele ich Computerspiele. Ich bin einmal in das Videocomputer Geschäft gegangen und da habe ich den Besitzer kennengelernt. Er hat früher in einer bekannten Band gespielt dann hat er seine Frau geschwängert und hat beschlossen etwas anderes zu machen. Er war auch beim AMS und dann hat er sich entschieden das Geschäft zu eröffnen. Wir haben uns gut verstanden es ist schon sehr interessant wie sich Menschen kennenlernen. Man kann sagen dass es Schicksal war dass ich ihn kennengelernt habe.Er ist für mich eine Art Vater Figur, da ich nie einen hatte. Ich werde auch anfangen Electro Gitarre zu spielen ich interessiere mich sehr für Musik.“( 18. January 2012:78)

Apart from that, Sefan used the club scene to criticize the behaviour of his friend’s ex-flirt – another argument in support of the notion that the club is often recognized as an attraction point for young people, a place to analyse the behaviour of the opposite gender. The club serves as a place where one can elaborate on communication problems when men and women chase different targets. When Stefan started telling his friend’s love story, everybody got suddenly engaged in that discussion. The main participant in that love affair was there, sitting next to Stefan and listened to story. Stefan pointed at him, he was dark haired, he had tattoos all over his arms and was wearing a tight white shirt with his well-train muscles quite emphasized. The boy kept nodding in approval when Stefan was talking about his ex-flirt and the way she started stalking him. Stefan clarified that his friend’s aim was to have a one-night

stand. However, the girl started following and stalking him. Their aims and expectations completely differed. Stefan’s friend wanted a momentary thrill, a fast and easy sexual satisfaction, while girl had other visions and ideas of how the relationship should function. “Mein Freund wurde zum Beispiel von seiner Ex Freundin gestalked. Er hat gesagt dass er nur einen one night stand wollte und dann stand sie plötzlich vor seiner Türe.“( Stefan 18. January 2012:79).

For Alexander thirty-eight year old, the club served as a place where to share his personal issues. He confessed that he was generally shy and it was often relatively difficult for him to find the right approach to women and friends. In addition, he articulated that his former friends had moved in a different direction in life and had settled down with families. The participant informed that he had somehow missed the time to settle down, have a family and that is why he was a regular guest at the club scenes. In addition, he thought it was a little odd for him and thought there was something wrong with him because he felt rather willing to attend cubs at this age.

“Meine älteren Freunde haben sich alle in eine andere Richtung bewegt. Irgendwie habe ich den Sprung nicht gemacht. Es ist schon komisch als 38 Jähriger in den Slide Club zu gehen.Man wird schon auch komisch angeschaut.“ (Alexander 17. February 2012: 127)

4.5 Attending the Club in a group Yet another target of the research is to find out why young people tend to visit the clubs in groups? When visiting the club with a group of friends, people would usually exchange information and would communicate within the frames of their own group, although everybody is a participant in the club. People who do not belong to that specific group have scarce chances of being fully integrated into that given group. Individuals who visit the club in a certain group surrounding, are often well-informed on the experience others have had at the club.

One of the purposes of the research is to provide insight on the interrelation between the participants who visit the clubs in groups. It is interesting to focus on the experience the group has as a whole body of people at the club atmosphere. We cannot really talk of an entire group experience although each member often shares similar experience to the rest of the group. People who attend clubs in groups have fewer chances to gain entrance. If a bouncer decides

100

to deny access to a member of the group, then he will deny access to the whole group with no exceptions. Many observations have provided enough evidence that a group has less chances of being admitted in the club and sometimes would be denied access with no grounded reason.

In order to receive a realistic insight on the way certain groups act in the club atmosphere, I decided to become a part of one. This gave me the opportunity to dive even deeper into whole club scene. One evening I decided to accompany one of my interviewees – Erwin to the club. Erwin always goes clubbing in groups of three to four, he always moves between the cub scenes and is not exactly bound to a certain one. One evening Erwin and his three friends were waiting in front of the Slide Club to be given permission to get in. The bouncer looked at them critically and disapprovingly and denied access. He did not bother to give any explanation why the group was not let in and there was no argumentative reason. The bouncer explained that the place was too crowded and there were no places for the night. In fact the club was not that crowded at all because I had been in the club beforehand. The bouncers often misuse the position of the authority and take random decisions who is allowed and who is not to enter.

The Slide Club has a reputation of a place where artificial elite is tolerated, where people are only allowed in if they follow obediently the latest fashion trends or give the impression of being very confident and arrogant. That night Erwin was wearing jeans, a scarf and saloon shoes. His best friend, Joseph had short trimmed hair and is a regular visitor of the solarium and gym. He works as a mechanic. The other two young men in group are Josef’s former army colleagues. One of them is a professional soccer player and the other one is an amateur.

When we decided to visit another posh club, the bouncers of that Club made some offensive remarks on the clothing of the male participants. Then they asked them if they were wearing nicely ironed shirts. There are certain rules and a dress code adopted by the club management. He bouncers, acting authoritatively denied access for the group of participants. The bouncers had the power to evaluate the fashion standards of the men and made it even more difficult for them to get in. Erwin said:

“Ah das wird kein Problem sein wir werden reinkommen weil der eine Türsteher ist ein Fitnesstrainer er trainiert im selben Fitnesscenter wie mein Freund.( From the field diary February 2012) “

101

His friend Joseph was waiting at the side of the entrance when a strong, well-built, fit bouncer came up to him. The bouncer was not from the group of bouncers, serving the waiting visitor she had been called. The bouncer talked to him for a while and then let us in. As we were entering the Club Erwin added: “Wenn ich das gewusst hätte, wäre ich nicht nur mit dem T- shirt gekommen ich hätte mich für diesen Club anders gekleidet. Es war nicht geplant dass wir hier her gehen.(From the field- diary February 2012) “ While I was sitting on one of the white sofas in the club, Erwin started observing Josef’s two army colleagues and stated that every time they had been in the club they had behaved in a rather embarrassing way and had tried to approach the women in the club in a direct physical way with no success. Erwin:

“Mein bester Freund kennt die anderen Beiden durch das Bundesheer und geht deswegen mit ihnen aus. Ich habe sie erst zum zweiten Mal gesehen ich finde die beiden etwas extrem, sie sind nicht ganz mein Fall. Wie soll ich sagen die Zwei reden und tanzen immer sofort Frauen an, aber irgendwie haben sie dabei keinen Erfolg sie sind zu extrem das wollen die Frauen anscheinend nicht, sie scheinen etwas falsch zu machen.( From the field diary February 2012)“

While we were observing the participants in the group and Erwin was giving me a detailed insight on their behaviour, another friend of his came in the club. Erwin explained that it had not been a planned encounter. His friend works as a barkeeper in a bar in the city centre. He is thirty-seven years old and a repeater at the Slide Club and other posh clubs in Vienna. The barkeeper’s name is Sasha. Sasha is very tall and slim; he had dark-blond hair and that night was wearing jeans fixed with a pair of suspenders. Erwin described him as a very nice person but at the same time he said that he went to clubs with the only idea of having a one-night girl for the weekend. Erwin:

“Wir haben nicht ausgemacht ihn zu treffen, es war zufällig ich kenne ihn seid (4- 5)Jahren er ist echt ein netter Kerl aber ein womanizer, ich glaube er geht jedes Wochenende mit einer anderen Heim.“( From the field diary February 2012)

After a while, a blond, curly-haired girl appeared in the club. She was wearing a black tight mini dress, the neckline revealed quite a lot of her breasts, black mesh tights, and around her neck she was wearing a pearl necklace. The girl was seventeen years old. Erwin got irritated by her presence and explained that she disliked him because he had broken up with her best friend. Erwin:

102

“Es wird für mich schwierig werden es kommt eine Freundin von mir irgendwie kann ich sie überhaupt nicht leiden. Sie ist die beste Freundin meiner Ex- Freundin. Sie ist böse auf mich weil ich ihre Freundin abserviert habe. Aber das ist ja klar dass ich die Beziehung nicht weiter führen kann wenn sie mich mit neun Männern betrogen hat.“ (From the field diary February 2012)

She immediately went up to Sasha a stimulating conversation between the two of them followed. After a while she left Sasha and came up to Erwin and greeted him quite euphorically. She hugged him. Erwin was overwhelmed by her tempestuous greeting and stated: “Bitte nicht so schnell. “( From the field diary February 2012) They started talking about his ex-girlfriend and she encouraged him to renew his relationship with her. As they kept speaking on the issue, the professional soccer player interfered to put an end to the conversation and stated in a dominant tone: “Also ich lasse nicht zu dass er weiter mit der Schlampe spricht, ich bin sein Freund und setze mich ein.“ ( From the field dairy February 2012).The girl decided to leave the sofa and walked up to Sasha who was waiting for her to go dancing. They started dancing vigorously, defiantly and provocatively. As soon as she was gone, Erwin stated she only pretended to be friendly and she would behave in a completely different way if she had been with her friend. He also expressed his indignation with respect to the way she was dressed, he described her fashion style the one that a “cheap” woman would use and that he would never feel attracted to such a woman.

“Also sie tut nur so nett sie richtet sich immer alles so wie sie es braucht. Wenn ihre beste Freundin dabei wäre würde sie mich hassen und auf der Seite ihrer Freundin sein. Wenn sie alleine kommt ist sie nett zu mir. Ich glaube dass alles von ihr gespielt ist. Sie ist falsch. Also ich glaube sie hat schon ungefähr mit dreißig Männern geschlafen.Sie geht Do, Fr, Sa aus alle drei Tage und landet immer bei einem Anderen, ich habe sie auch öfters von Wohnungen abgeholt wo sie übernachtet hat. Ich meine er ist 37 er muss es verantworten was er tut wenn sie nicht mit ihm nach Hause geht würde sie mit jemanden anderen nach Hause gehen.“( From the field diary February 2012)

After a while the girl returned to our sofa. She leant on Josef’s shoulder and they started speaking. Erwin explained that his friend and the girl used to have a sexual relationship. He described that he felt responsible for his friend, in order keep him away from“so called“bad influences. Erwin described the girl as a person who betrays males and therefore cannot be trusted. While I was watching them, Erwin said:

“Ja die kennen sich gut wie soll ich sagen die hatten einmal eine körperliche Beziehung. Ich hoffe er bleibt stark und geht nicht mit ihr nach Hause. Ich kenne ihn schon lange und fühle mich verantwortlich. Ich fühle mich als ob sich sein großer Bruder wäre. Er

103

hat ein dreiviertel Jahr eine Beziehung mit einem anderen Mädchen gehabt, er ist schon ein Beziehungsmensch und ist Beziehungsfähig. Für ihn ist das so er lässt sich entweder ganz auf eine Frau ein, aber er kann auch seine Gefühle komplett abstellen. Schau er ist etwas abgebrühter ich bin noch von der alten Schule. Bei ihr müsste er immer Sorgen haben dass sie ihn betrügt. Sie hat ihm erklärt dass sie seitdem sie sich das letzte Mal gesehen haben, nur mit einem Anderen geschlafen hat, aber das stimmt nicht ich habe sie ja von Wohnungen wo sie übernachtet hat abgeholt.“(From the field diary February 2012)

While Joseph was having a stimulating conversation with the girl and light up a cigarette, Sasha reappeared. The girl left Sasha and started dancing with Joseph. The young man went on his own to one of the bars in the club. Erwin explained: “Schau er nimmt die ganze Sache gar nicht mehr ernst.”( From the field diary February 2012) Joseph returned back to the sofas, started laughing and announced: “Weißt du sie hat gesagt wir beide hätten eine Chance gehabt. Sie hat aber am Display vom Handy ein Bild vom Sasha, ich habe es gesehen.“( From the field diary February 2012)

4.6 What is the meaning of the club

My findings reveal that club life is not limited to the dance floor only but expands beyond. Club life is not only about dancing to the music and having fun and joy. There is more to it. Observations show that the restroom in the clubs has a specific function in the club lives of female participants. Many females attend the club scene to exchange ideas and views and experience with others. The restroom often reminds of a coffee shop with its quite alike relaxed atmosphere. Women are given a chance to speak with others about lovesickness, ex- boyfriends or misplaced love. Many females tend to spend a significant part of their time in the club restroom without really using the toilet. There are females who prefer the relaxed coffee house atmosphere to the noisy and packed dance-floor atmosphere in the club. Moreover, the restroom is a place where females open up, they are willing to speak and share with perfect strangers. It can be easily noticed that women do not need long period of time to start sharing and talking, get in details on topics far off the club topics. This comes to prove as a serious indication that the club plays a certain role and has a definite meaning in the lives and experience of females at the clubs because there is always the possibility to find someone to show empathy.

In addition it can be stated that people tend to participate in the club scene in order to drift into a reality that is different to the daily routine. There are participants who appreciate the fact 104

that the club offers a chance to play a role comparatively different to the daily one. This category of visitors lives for the moment; they are carried away by the spirit of the music and are excited by the opportunity to find a sexual partner for the night. The club atmosphere is welcoming and alluring for strangers who start kissing and touching each other not long after entering the club. This phenomenon of getting in physical contact with a stranger short after diving into the club atmosphere is rather typical of the student club scenes. In a posh club scene approaches are started in a more covert way but the moment-centred behaviour is still easy to be identified and remains pretty obvious. Many people move amongst different club scenes and are not particularly tied to one club only.

Observations come to prove that the dance floor is a place where a male touches a female’s body, the hips and most often without any permission. Some females seem to be attracted by that behaviour, others are disturbed and upset and complain and oppose such an attitude. Some interviewees explain that they do appreciate the offered by the club scene possibility to cross over physical barriers. The moment-centred behaviour is usually not framed within the club scene and is sometimes taken into the private sphere and people would go for a one-night stand. However, the morning after is a morning of regret. Some interviewees often feel sorry for acting on the spur of the moment. A female participant shared that the morning after she had visited the club she experienced a complete blackout and was shocked by getting involved into a physical contact with a stranger. A male informant expressed his fascination by the fact that the Domus club offered him the chance to easily get into a physical contact with a strange woman in one of the restrooms and then move on to a one-night stand. The informant had certain expectations that the contact with the woman could develop into something more permanent. However, the female had no intention of keeping in contact with him, as she was only acting for the moment with no regard of the future whatsoever.

A further factor to be argued is that there are men and women who participate at the club scene following their wish to find a stable long-term partner. However, there are tremendous difficulties in finding one because there are far too many people looking for a fast and easy thrill and excitement. In this respect two opposing views clash. An important issue to be pointed out is that many young people enjoy clubbing because that allows safe and free observation on the actions taken by others; an example of observation is when a group of men commented, enjoyed awhile watching two women kissing each other. The music in the club has a crucial role in the club life, too. Music gives everybody a chance to set free and play a

105

role, live up to one’s dreams. The dominant mood in the scene is very much dependent on the music being played. The DJ plays a part of a conductor and of peoples’ actions and spirit. He leads them into a different reality. Men who seemed to be calm throughout the whole evening start to unbutton their ironed shirts and scream and shout to the lyrics of the songs. Another point to be included is that the club is not only a place where participants dive into a different reality. The club scene is also a place where tone is given the opportunity to be heard by others. This means that the club scene is a place where one can freely and openly talk about negative or positive experience of gone and finished love affairs and relationships. Male participants share what it feels to be betrayed by a girlfriend. The club is more than a place of enjoyment. It is a setting where members establish contacts, exchange love experience and reveal part of their private world.

Findings have given the clear evidence that people who tend to visit the club in a group share nearly every aspect of the club life. They share the negative experience of being excluded as a group when the bouncer decides to make use of his powerful position. The bouncers often use their position of an authority to exclude whole groups of visitors or not allow access at all. However, the group also shares a common past in the club life. There is a sense of interrelation between the group members. They are often well informed on each member’s experience not only in clubs but in life in general. In many cases they share a sexual past or wish to share a sexual future. When I attended the club with a group of participants, an informant called Erwin kept observing his friends. At a certain moment Erwin stated that one of his male friends used to have a sexual relationship with a girl who was also present at the club that night and was to some extend a part of the group. Each member of that group was directly or indirectly linked to the others.

A further aspect to be included is the issue why so many males tend to feel attracted to the club scene and that is because clubs provide the chance for girl-hunting. Males often make use of a catch penny in order to get the attention of the other gender. They would often ask females to join them at one of their reserved tables. At the reserved tables there is a cooled champagne waiting. It does not take long before males start complementing the females and make their first approach to them. First hand experiences have come in support of the evidence that males tend to present themselves in a more positive light. Such a presentation puts the man in a winning position and presumably increases his chances with the desired gender. Experience shows that males willingly talk about their future salary or the things they

106

possess. However, a woman can never trust one hundred percent what she is told because men almost always have and are driven by an ulterior motive. Observations have given the clear impression that males often advertise each other’s qualities and speak highly of their male friends to assure a more successful approach to the woman.

5. Discussion on Findings with Reference to Recent Literature 5.1 Grazian's Theory about “the hustle of the urban nightlife“

One major point that the author discusses is that at the club scene people tend to exaggerate and not tell the truth about their occupation and age in order to increase their chances with the opposite sex(Grazian 2008:126). Grazian points out that media have an impact on the minds of the young men who go clubbing (Grazian 2008: 140).Media presents the club as a place where physical borders with strangers can be easily neglected.However, this is only a myth since the pickup in most cases is not successful.Further he explains that at the club scenes sexual harassment is very common and points out what females experience being approached in a direct and indirect way by the males (Grazian 2008:162-163).

Another major issue that David Grazian highlights in his book called „The Hustle of Urban Nightlife“ is that many people on dating websites are not completely honest about their physical appearance(Grazian 2008:126). These men and women present themselves as highly attractive and in most cases that is far from the truth. At the club scene the participants can not lie about their physical appearance in order to increase their chances towards the opposite sex but they can put themselves in a winning and positive light. Here the aim of the partakers is to impress the other sex (Grazian 2008:126). David Grazian argues that personal characteristics such as the age or the work position can be exaggerated (Grazian 2008:127). Within my research it was identifiable that male participants try to increase their chances when approaching females by presenting their future perspectives in life. Male interviewees try to make a fake impression about themselves. Here a sense a parallelism can be found to David Grazians idea since he states that partakers at the club scenes tend to exaggerate about their personal characteristics (Grazian 2008:127).For example, one interviewee who participates in my research kept using symbols of social and financial status like the wages he would earn when he started working at his father’s car company. An aspect that was left out by Grazian was that men tend to increase their chances with the opposite sex when speaking low of men working for other sectors as was the case with my interviewee. He discussed the issue 107

whether I would chose a man who earned a high salary or a bin man. That was a case of clear categorsiation. Another interviewee talked about his fluent skills in Spanish, and presented himself as a very self-confident person. At the same time he started to consciously speak low of another male member in order to put himself in a better position with regards to approaching the opposite sex. One interviewee talked about the vineyards he possessed in Serbia with the same goal – impress.

Yet another point brought up by Grazian is that it is statistically very uncommon for males to be successful in the pick-up ( Grazian 2008:140). He explains that media and erotic film and pornography industry contributes to development of certain fantasies in the minds of the male participants at the club scenes (Grazian 2008:140). They have certain expectation the very moment they enter the club.These expectations have already been influenced by the erotic industry. The male participants have a certain visions and understandings hat they can cross physical barriers with strangers and identify the club a perfect place to meet their expectations with regards to sexual fantasies (Grazian 2008:140) .Grazian points out that these visions that the club can be recognized as a place to choose a woman can easily be classified as a myth as in most of the cases the need cannot be met(Grazian 2008:140). Another point that Grazian elaborates on is that males hunt in groups mainly and believe their erotic status will be set higher if they have as many female sex partners as possible (Grazian 2008:141).Whereas females are described by Grazians as mature and being more careful and critical towards strangers, he even uses the expression “more protective regarding their personal space” (Grazian 2008:161). Further he points out that it is an illusion to think that females participating at the club scene are interested in meeting sexual partners only (Grazian 2008:161). Grazian’s theory on the pick-up myth does not correspond to my findings. Results have shown that many male participants were successful in pick-ups of females at the Viennese club scene. There are many male and female participants who feel attracted to the club scenes as they know that sexual anticipations can be met. Grazian’s idea that females are more precautions and do not exactly trust strangers does not match my findings (Grazian 2008:161). My findings reveal that there are a high number of females who look for fast sexual excitement in the club and are not so protective of themselves. A female interviewee from the Slide Club informed that after attending the club scene and having behaved provocatively, crossing sexual borders with that stranger, the next morning she could not remember anything. She had a complete black-out. The girl regretted her actions. She did not answer the text message she got from the boy and he was only asking if she had enjoyed the

108

night. The girl did not want to raise deceitful hopes. She was no interested in upholding a contact with her male victim. Further examples on the behaviour of females at the club scenes discovered in my research can be found in the interview with Erwin. He articulates that he has female friends who attend clubs in order to accompany males back home. The next morning the girls then often regret their moment-centred behaviour. A further elaboration on the issues was given by Martin who informs about his encounter with a female who set the first approach and lead him to one of the bathrooms in the club to have an intimate contact with him. Martin had expectations that the relationship could be sustained. However, the woman decided to break the contact.

Grazian focuses on the myth of the easy the pick-ups rather than concentrating on the successful pick-ups at the club scenes. A crucial aspect that Grazian does not cover in his research is how males and females felt after they overcrossing physical barriers with a stranger and what measurements are used to break the contact the next day.

Grazian articulates that sexual harassment has already become a main part of the nightlife scene. Males for instance grab the hips of female participants at the club scenes, crack sexual jokes or approach the woman with insulting pick-up lines (Grazian 2008:163). Further he states that most females fell disturbed by the approach of strange men in the clubs(Grazian 2008:162). According to him, at the very moment men invite them for drinks, females question what specific aim they chase(Grazian 2008:162). Some females enunciated that they feel upset when males regard them as a piece of flesh (Grazian 2008:163). A point which Grazian argues on is that females start to develop defensive attitude and try to put an end to the approaches of intrusive men (Grazian 2008:165). Grazian states that many young women feel disturbed by the fact that they are approached by men who are ten or twenty years older than them (Grazian 2008:165). He further adds that in such cases the girls are rude and take try to avoid eye contact and give short answers to their questions (Grazian 2008:166).

Within my research I have also found out that the sexual harassment is a disturbing factor in club life; many female participants state that they do not enjoy being touched everywhere by strangers while making their way through the party crowd .My personal experience as a “sexual object” has shown that it is often quite too common for males to grab ones hand or hips without asking for any permission. As described by Grazian the sexual harassment is often a main part of the club scene. The point that males often make use of cheap pick-up lines

109

corresponds to my findings. Nina and interviewee of mine told that she was once standing on the dance floor when a man asked her if she wanted to have a threesome with him and his girlfriend. The girl felt very offended by the direct question and wondered whether she was treated in an offensive manner by Austrian men because of her Polish background. The fact that females use specific measurements in order to protect themselves from certain intrusive approaches can be proven as right in regards to my findings. Observations have given me a clear insight that many females try to escape from intrusive men by using the restroom. A male participant, called Alexander, thirty-eight years old shared that it was rather difficult for him to approach young girls. He concluded that they would neglect him because of his age. Once he said, a girl ran away after he revealed his actual age. Alexander’s wish was to be younger and have better success with women at the club scenes. The reaction of the girl who ran away was a measure for her to put an end to the approach. Grazian shared the perspectives of females when approached by older men. But it would be interesting to elaborate on the perspective of the older men, how they feel about being rejected and why they actually approach much younger women.

An issue brought up by Grazian is that males boost each other’s self- confidence before going clubbing(Grazian 2008: 142).They are often convinced that boosting one’s self-confidence is a crucial measurement in girls-hunt success (Grazian 2008: 142). Grazian stresses out that the masculine behaviour is hyped while discussing who is going to receive the most attention and largest number of female admirers in the club (Grazian 2008:142). It is very common that males start rival sex talks (Grazian 2008:142). My findings support Grazian’s idea that males build-up each other’s confidence in the group and follow the target – finding a sexual object at the club scene. The interview which I have taken with Fritz serves as clear evidence in support of that statement. Fritz informed that he had decided with his male peers that their aim for the evening would be to kiss as many females as possible. However, building-up of the confidence is recognisable among female groups, too. One crucial observation has revealed that there are certain number of females who motivate each other to hunt as many male victims as possible and these talks on motivations happen before actually attending the club.

Grazian emphasises the fact that males hunt females in groups(Grazian 2008:139). However, there are quite a few males who oppose the so-called hunting ritual where everything is based on a short sexual enjoyment. There are male interviewees in my research who disagree with the fact that there were too many females and males looking for a fast kick only. Grazian does

110

not investigate in depth those males who do not share the idea of the pick-up. It is important to take a closer look at those who share the idea of “hyped masculinity” and the ones who oppose it(Grazian 2008:142). There are many males looking for true love in the club but have difficulties in finding it because many participants look for a fast physical contact and satisfaction.

Grazian states that girl-hunt is something ritualistic because the introduction of masculinity is often defined as a group experience, since there are a couple of members involved (Grazian 2008:139). He states that males in a group often set up goals before attending in the club scene(Grazian 2008:139). The first target that they follow is to pull or pick-up a girl, the second objective is to support each other in order to increase their self-confidence (Grazian 2008:139).The purpose of these measurements is to help males act in a self-confident way the moment they approach females (Grazian 2008:139). Grazian also states that many males demonstrate their masculinity when walking about the club in groups and looking for a sexual object (Grazian 2008:150). the club often functions as a place where males observe a specific member of the group who is successful in his approaches (Grazian 2008:151). It is spoken of as an experience, an opinion shared in the group (Grazian 2008:151).The ones who observe his manner compare themselves with the one who succeeds in his approach and get the feeling that their own masculinity is introduced indirectly or incorrectly (Grazian 2008:151). Grazian also makes use of the term “wingman”(Grazian 2008:153). The role of the wingman is to support his single friend and help him approach a female .The wingmen function to support and encourage their male friends to succeed in their endeavours to set a contact with a woman(Grazian 2008:154). Further, the wingman has the role to build up the self-confidence of other males in the group (Grazian 2008:154).Within my findings the men walk about the club, come to me and state that they have a friend who can be my perfect match. Grazian’s wingman theory can be proven right down to my experience with a member of a group who came up to me and started talking high of his friend. And that was on an isolated occurrence. There was one informant in the club who highly advertised his friend’s qualities and said that his friend was very much into me. While I was speaking to his friend and did not react to his approaches, he immediately headed towards another girl. In his research Grazian has left out the function of the standup tables and the reserved tables and their role in the approach. My findings have displayed that males do not go round the club all, the time; they often use the standup tables in the club to observe females and to set a first approach. As a proof to that statement I can introduce the fact there have been males who approached me as a sexual

111

object and asked me to sit together with them at the reserved tables, using the alcohol as a catch penny to attract females. Everybody from that male peer group was well integrated while observing the set approach. There have also been many cases where males do not select a specific target; they would approach randomly many women at the club scene till they find the one to respond to their approach.

5.2 Silvia Riefs perspective on “Club Cultures Boundaries, Identities and Otherness“ Silvia Rief’s theory exemplifies that the club atmosphere often creates the illusion of a place rather different from the everyday life ( Rief 2009:104). It is described that the lights, the dancing atmosphere and the fashion style demanded by the clubs, take people into a different kind of reality (Rief 2009:104). These are visual stimuli that create a specific time awareness that differs to the usual time consciousness (Rief 2009:105). It is articulated that these external factors have an impact on the way participants perceive reality, thus the so-called emotional states of the people are converted by these external influences (Rief 2009:104). Moreover, it is pointed out that substances consumed by participants such as alcohol and drugs have further impact on perception of reality (Rief 2009:105).

A crucial issue introduced by Silvia Rief is that the club world is often perceived by participants as a place where one has the possibility to drift into a world that is differing from the daily routine (Rief 2009:112). The club life gives the participants the chance to leave the daily life behind; it the club is regarded as a place where one can escape to.However this escape is reduced by some participants only to couple of hours, as they have to face reality again (Rief 2009:112). Silvia Rief states that some participants are concerned that they are too much drawn into the club life,they are afraid of losing control when being too much integrated in the club scene (Rief 2009:112). Further, Silvia Rief argues that there are participants in the club scene that do not fear to move between the actual reality and the club scene(Rief 2009:112). These participants report that they are in control of moving between the daily life and the club scene (Rief 2009:112). Another point that Silvia Rief investigates is that in the club scene participants tend to create a new image quite different to the image in they have in everyday life (Rief 2009:113). The club is described as a place where the participants often behave and act differently .The change of the behaviour pattern is created with the aid of the darkness in the club (Rief 2009:113). Nothing can be described as real, since most participants dress differently in comparison to what they wear in the day.The behavior pattern of the people is changed through the whole atmosphere, and that change does not have to be

112

necessarily grounded on the use of drugs (Rief 2009:113). It is argued that the club scene offers new perspectives such as new friendships and relationships. The connections started between the visitors are identified as real in the club scene. However in the daily routine, people question the worth of these bonds (Rief 2009:114). Rief highlights the fact that the participants were come to the conclusion that these bonds can be defined as wrong (Rief 2009:114). A clear link to my research work can be made. The club atmosphere creates a space where people start overcrossing physical barriers after a short period of time spent with others. The participants drift into a completely different reality. The moment-cantered behaviour is often taken into the private sphere. However, in many cases the participants regret acting on the spur of the moment. Even though there are participants who dive too deeply into the Club atmosphere and cross over physical barriers at the club scenes, there are yet other participants who reverse to their normal behaviour. They have seen the danger of getting too involved in the scene. For instance Fritz, an interviewee form the Slide Club, questioned the need of overcrossing physical barriers with strangers. Luwig, an interviewee from the Slide Club, described that he used to visit the club scenes to get in physical contact with unknown women. A conversion of his view took place when he has fell in love. Females who are afraid of being too much involved in the club scene often withdraw to the restroom in order to escape from intrusive males who try to convince them into a physical contact or touch them without asking for permission. A further point covered by Silvia Rief is that the waiting queue in front of the Club functions as a place where the visitors present their outfits in order to gain access (Rief 2009:84).There is often a sense of elitism created by the clubs, where only certain visitors are allowed to participate (Rief 2009:85). It is further articulated that there are participants who present themselves in a specific way since they are aware of the fact that only a certain presentation can assure them an easier access to the club (Rief 2009:86).These participants start playing role in order to favour the bouncers standing in front of the club (Rief 2009:86). They pretend for instance to be older in order to gain entrance or single men start chatting with females to make the impression that they are accompanied by them.Further, the bouncers are often aware of the fact that the guests are likely to play a certain role in order to gain access (Rief 2009:86). Silvia Rief stresses upon the fact that the bouncers sometimes react when they see again the participants who have deceived them (Rief 2009:87). They are not allowed to re-enter the club again if recognized. For example two girls had led to the bouncers about their age and the next time they were denied access and asked to show their identity cards (Rief 2009:87).

113

There is a sense of parallelism given to my findings since observations revealed that certain clubs have adopted a set of regulations. The bouncers of the Slide Club always assess the guests from their outer appearance; they make a detailed examination on their clothes. The Slide Club to creates an artificial elite atmosphere, here guests have to subjugate to latest fashion demands and dress code, too. The ones who are dressed-up best and look self- confident are allowed to enter. Silvia Rief covers the potential of conflicts that can arise between the visitors and the bouncers when entry is refused (Rief 2009:87). However, she does not pay enough attention to the bouncers and their role at the club scenes. Further, the potential of conflicts can also arise between members of the one group, when they are refused access to the club. The issue of arising conflicts between members rejected by the club scene is not further discussed in Silvia Rief’s findings. Observations have shown that bouncers often use their powerful position as authority when granting access to the people who want to get in. There was this situation when a group of young men tried to convince the bouncers to gain entrance as they even offered him a scarf in the cold winter night. The bouncer considered the offer for a couple of minutes and pretended that he was reconsidering his decision. In the end he simply rejected their offer and denied access to the group. A crucial point, not covered by Silvia Rief is the ways guests try to convince the bouncers of the club to gain access. There were guests standing in front of the Slide Club who informed the bouncers that they only wanted to spend some money. A female that was accompanied by her male friends explained that she was wearing high heels and that she therefore was entitled to entrance. Silvia Rief articulated that it is a very common phenomenon when groups of friends attend in the club scenes ( Rief 2009: 89). Further she articulated that despite the fact that clubs are places of intense social life it is often difficult to become part of a group and she explains that social boundaries cannot be crossed over that easily ( Rief 2009:89). My findings reveal that it is really much dependent on the club scene – in some clubs social borders can be crossed, in others – not. At the students club scenes there is intensive communication between different participants even though they do not belong to the same group. As I was carrying out my research I noticed that the members of the clubs would come to me and ask me to join their group. The communication level between the groups is lively and intensive between strangers in the restroom. However, at the Slide Club, participants are more reserved and groups hardly ever mix. It was much more difficult to become a member of a group. One of the reasons for the difficulties to become a member of a group at the Slide Club is that the atmosphere is more rigid than the one at the students clubs. In a posh club most of the participants go with the fashion standards and the behaviour codes set by the club management, whereas in the

114

students clubs there are no rules to be followed. The bouncers in front of the students clubs do not act as an authority and do not make random decisions as to who is allowed in and who is not. Further Silvia Rief stats that the club life distinguishes by the common expectation that people visit the clubs in groups to meet others at the scene (Rief 2009:90). My findings have shown that most participants do arrive in groups but there are individuals who come on their own, especially at the students clubs. They are not isolated due to the fact that everybody is dancing, and they can be easily integrated. The idea presented by Rief that people catch other´s eye when they show up on their own at the club scene is not corresponding to with my findings (Rief 2009:90). There have been female participants who arrived on their own, as they were aware that it was easy to become a member of a group. During my conversation with Laura at the restroom of the Domus Club she informed me that she had arrived on her own. She did not feel isolated at all, since she knew that the club scene was a place where social contacts with others can be easily established. Martin, a participant of the Domus Club, arrived as well on his own and nobody noticed the fact.

Another issue Rief elaborates on is that dancing in the club culture has much to do with the fact that people let everything out, the mind and the body drift apart (Rief 2009:91).The participants forget about the world outside (Rief 2009:91). Rief also points out that the participants often enjoy being observed by the others when dancing (Rief 2009:192). In my findings the participants often react to the lines of the songs; men behave in a manlier manner as certain songs are played, unbutton their ironed shirts, or scream together along with the lyrics of the song. The participants I have observed use the club scene to a certain extent to get rid of their self-control. However, a main factor in their attraction to the dance floor is the desire to play a role different from the role they have in everyday life. Within my findings I have discovered that participants feel animated to exaggerate their dance moves when they notice they are being observed by the others and enjoy the attention they get.

5.3 Summary of Grazian´s and Rief´s views respect to my findings

I am going to give a short summary on Grazian´s and Rief´s views and findings with respect to mine.According to David Grazian the pick-up at the clubs is a myth (Grazian 2008:140). Under a“pick- up” one should understand the intention of a male to quickly and easily find a suitable sexual partner at the club (Grazian 2008:140). However, Grazian points out that in many cases men are not successful in their pick-up endevours (Grazian 2008:140). He also

115

discusses the issues on the influence of media which creates a certain image of the club as a place where one can easily find a short-term sexual partner (Grazian 2008:140). Further, media tend to exaggerate that image(Grazian 2008:140). My findings do not support the pick- up myth because according to my investigations and observations there is a relatively high number of males and females who do succeed in picking-up a sexual partner. (Grazian 2008:140).Another aspect covered by Grazian is that males tend to boost each other’s self confidence prior to attending the club scene (Grazian 2008:153). Grazian states that there is always one man in the group who can be defined as the so-called “wingman“(Grazian 2008:153).The “wingman“ has a certain position in the group. He is the one who pumps up his friends’ confidence and introduces females to his friends .The wingman has the position of a supporter (Grazian 2008:153). My findings reveal that this phenomena when males boost each other’s confidence is very common at the club scenes. Interviewees explain that before going to the club they usually set up a certain objective. In many cases that would be to get to know as many females as possible and succeed in picking-up a girl. Sometimes males would go for advertising each other’s qualities by speaking highly of each other. My findings are not far off and to some extend cover Grazian´s conclusions. There is one leading male in the group who supports others in their successful approach to females at the club scene. Another aspect covered by Grazian is that participants tend to present themselves in a positive light and emphasise on their better qualities (Grazian 2008:127). My findings show that there are males who try to impress the sexual object by using symbols of social and financial status. Yet another point discussed by Grazian is that females often experience sexual harassment at the club scenes (Grazian 2008: 163). Grazian states that it is a very common occurrence when males touch females without any permission, or introduce offensive and rude insulting pick-up lines (Grazian 2008:163). This statement was further proved through my own experience as a potential sexual object and being sexually harassed as a potential “prey”. On the other hand many female informants express disapproval with that kind of attitude and do not enjoy being touched all over by male strangers without permission. A female interviewee of mine shares that she was once asked by a man to have a threesome. She felt deeply insulted by the pick-up lines.

Some of Silvia Rief’s views are that lights, illuminations and dancing atmosphere, the fashion requirements adopted by the clubs take people into a different reality(Rief 2009:104). I would like to make link to my observations and findings. The club often creates an atmosphere where people tend to neglect and cross over physical barriers and that happens quite too soon after

116

arrival. The participants drift into a world that is completely different from their everyday reality. Further, Silvia Rief argues that the clubs are places where it is rather difficult to become a part of a group (Rief 2009:89). My findings do not come any close to that statement. It largely depends on the club scene. At some clubs social borders can be crossed easily and at others – not. The investigations at the students clubs reveal that there is intensive communication going on between participants who do not even belong to the same group. However, while I was carrying out my observations at the posh club I noticed that the participants were more reserved and it was relatively difficult to become a member of any group. Rief’s findings elaborate on another issue, too – people usually tend to visit the clubs in groups and those who arrive on their own are given weird and rather odd looks(Rief 2009:90). However, my findings show that there are individuals who arrive on their own and that is something pretty common for the students’ club . Nobody is isolated because people dance together, the dance floor is always packed and it is easy to be integrated in a group. Generally, the atmosphere at the club scenes is welcoming and open to everybody willing to join. And yet another point Rief goes into is that when people dance to the music vibes in the club they let it all out. She also stresses on the fact that participants often enjoy being observed by others dancing or watching groups and individuals and sometimes dance for the sake of being noticed and paid attention(Rief 2009:91).My findings have shown that many men start behaving in a different manner when certain songs are played. Men who seem to be calm and settled through the whole evening start unbuttoning their ironed shirts and screaming and shouting along with the lyrics of the song.

6.Conclusion This chapter is tended to present a summary of my findings. The first question investigated is: Why is the restroom perceived by many females as an attraction point? Observations and interviews clearly show that club life is not limited to the dance floor only. It can be stated that the restrooms have a crucial position since here females have the opportunity to exchange observations, views and ideas about their sexual experience, misplaced love and hurt feelings. The restroom can be defined as a consultation and advice center where every member is invited to participate in the discussion. At the restroom the communication between women can be assessed as intensive, women who do not know each other open up and share. Moreover, the restroom often has the function of a safe haven where some females choose to escape from intrusive men. The restroom is considered by many 117

females as a gossip corner where they discuss the behavior and appearance of males participating at the club scenes. Females tend to judge and gossip about other females who visit or relax in the restroom.

The second question explored was:Does the club function as a place where one can drift into a different reality?

Results lead to the conclusion that many people tend to feel attracted to the clubs because there they can live for the moment and in many cases that means they are likely to cross over physical barriers and establish a sexual contact with strangers. Many visitors see it as an exciting stage where they can express sexual desires and play a role different to the daily routine. The club spirit where people can ignore borders is often taken further into the private sphere. However, the next day the spirit of the club atmosphere often fades away. The everyday life takes over the emotions; the sexual partner is then treated again as a stranger. Another factor that has to be looked at is, that many of the club visitors enjoy each other’s company and try to persuade the partner into a one-night stand. Moreover, it has been stated that there are participants in the club scene who disapprove of and oppose to the moment centered behaviour pattern. Those participants criticize relationships that are kept shallow and with no consideration of the future. Some participants tend to even lose the interest in attending the club scene on regular basis as they know that their wish to find a partner cannot be met. There are people at the club scene who look for long-term relationships but have come to the conclusion that it is impossible to find an appropriate partner in that particular place. There are two clashing views on the matter because some look for a serious relationship and others want to find a short-term enjoyment only. Another factor that has to be taken in account is that the music played in the club scenes has an impact on the behaviour of the participants. The music often leads the guests into a different reality, and they behave in a way they never would in their everyday life. It all comes to playing a role, indeed.

The third question explored in the research is:How do male participants approach females at the club scenes? There are specific and quite different ways of approach towards the women at the club scene. Investigations show that men usually use the symbols of their social and financial status to impress women. For instance, they talk about how much money they would earn in future, or articulate about the things they possess. However, most male participants are quite likely to exaggerate the truth which might be rather different from the reality. Another common 118

approach is one man speaking highly of another, advertising his personal qualities. During my research I met males who would walk up to me and inform me about the positive features of their friend. Another factor that has to be taken into consideration is that females often look with neglect and disgust at other females, who enjoy better attention and are approached more often. The rivalry at the club scene can be defined as severe which counts for both: male and female participants. Male participants speak low of other males at the club scene in order to get better chances and present themselves in a better light. An issue of crucial importance is that many males associate the club scenes with certain expectations as far as a woman is concerned. Some male visitors share the opinion that the students club Mocats is the right place to recover from lovesickness. For example, some men visit the club scene to find a substitute for an ex-girlfriend. Friends often have the crucial function to distract the one who is suffering, by showing him new perspectives in the club land and beyond. In addition, there are males who follow a certain technique when approaching females. Women attending the club scene assess the approaches taken on by the males accordingly and in react differently. It is often stated by females that males in the students clubs tend to neglect physical barriers and very soon cross those over, whereas in a posh club scene they tend to be less intrusive.

The fourth question investigated is: Does the club function as a place where one can be heard by others?

The club often functions as a place where people willingly talk about their work experience, personal issues and problems. A large number of participants share with others the experience of previous relationships. Here they elaborate on the disappointments of being betrayed. The club scene cannot be defined as a place where people have fun only. There is much more to it. The club scene is often identified as a place where one can open up to strangers and reveal a part of one’s inner world, ideas, feelings and emotions.

The fifth question inquired is: What experience can people attending the club scene in a certain group share? The members of the group are often well informed on each other’s experience at the club scene. There is often a certain level of interrelation between them. Members of a group might have been sexual partners in the past or might be using the club scene as an option to approach each other. It is a very common practice for those members of the group to observe each other’s behaviour. A phenomenon worth discussing is that bouncers often deny access to

119

people who wish to visit the club as a whole group and more seldom as individual visitors. The bouncers use their power of authority and position to make a certain, most often unjust decision. They would usually not bother grounding their attitude to a group and would not justify the denial of access given to the group.

The sixth question in discussion is: Is the club scene a place where hierarchy can be observed? It can be easily noted that quite too often there is hierarchy based on fashion standards and dress codes adopted by the club. The fashion hierarchy is to be observed mostly in posh clubs; in this research – the Slide Club. Many visitors are obliged to follow the regulations for fashion standards and dress code. The posh club imposes a sense of an artificial elite existence. People who do not observe the standards and the regulations are immediately expelled from the club scene or denied access. Besides, hierarchy can be detected at the reserved tables in the club. This phenomenon can be observed at the students club scenes. These tables are mostly reserved by special members of a group. A definite elite differentiation is set as a barrier which other participants are not allowed to cross. An interesting point should be emphasized: these preliminary created borders are soon pulled down by the men in the elite and that is with the single purpose to attract and invite women.

To summarize my findings let me clarify my main research question: Why are the club scenes seen as such an attraction point by young people? One of the reasons why young people feel attracted to the club scenes is because they have the chance to drift into a different world, another parallel reality, which utterly differs from the everyday life. Club scenes are often identified as the perfect place to easily and quickly find sexual enjoyment, to act at the spur of the moment. In addition, some other visitors do not give up the hope to find a partner for a long-term relationship. A further point why the club scene is perceived as such an attraction point is because the appetite for sensation is appeased. The actions of other members in the club can be observed and analysed . Moreover, many young people tend to feel attracted to the club scene just because it may be a cozy gossip corner. Many visitors take part at the club scenes and a person in need can be heard, understood, supported and given advice by others. Furthermore, the club scenes function as places where some individuals seek cure for their lovesickness. Visitors, attending the club in a group share almost every experience together and find it rather exciting. The club is regarded by many visitors as an attraction point but as a place to set hierarchy borders, too. Hierocracy exists through the fashion standards, dress codes, regulations and other standards adopted by the 120

club. The number of people who want to belong to that artificially created elite is surprisingly high. Many visitors who reserve tables at the club exclude other participants from the group of the closed circle of friends and wall up, conscious of their hierocracy position.

121

Literature

Scientific Literature

Atteslander, Peter (2006): Methoden der empirischen Sozialforschung, 11th edition, Berlin: Erich Schmidt Verlag

Emerson, Robert M./Fretz, Rachel J./Shaw, Linda (1995): Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes, Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press

Flick, Uwe/Kardoff, Ernst von/ Steinke, Ines (eds.) (2000): Qualitative Forschung. Ein Handbuch, Reinbeck bei Hamburg: Rohwolt

Grazian, David (2008): On the Make. The Hustle of Urban Nightlife, Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press

Jackson,Phil(2004):Inside Clubbing.Sensual Experiments in the Art of Being Human:Berg

Mayring, Philipp (2000): Qualitative Inhaltsanalyse, in: Flick, Uwe/Kardoff, Ernst von/ Steinke, Ines (eds.): Qualitative Forschung. Ein Handbuch, Reinbeck bei Hamburg: Rohwolt; 468-475

Mayring Philipp (2008): Qualitative Inhaltsanalyse. Grundlagen und Techniken, 10th Edition, Weinheim and Basel: Beltz Verlag

Morrill, Calvin/Snow, David A./White, Cindy H. (eds.) (2005): Together alone. Personal Relationships in Public Spaces, Berkeley-California: University of California Press

O’Reilly, Karen (2005): Ethnographic Methods, London and New York: Routledge

Rief, Silvia (2009): Boundaries, Indentities and Otherness, New York and London: Routledge

Sanders,Bill(2006):Drugs, Clubs and Young People:Ashgate

Silverman, David (2006): Interpreting Qualitative Data. Methods for Analyzing Talk, Text and Interaction, 3rd edition, London and Thousand Oaks and New Delhi: Sage Publications 122

Stern, Lesa A./Callister, Mark/Jones, Lynn (2005): Momentary Pleasures: Social Encounters, and Gender at a University Recreation Center, in: Morrill, Calvin/Snow, David A./White, Cindy H. (eds.): Together alone. Personal Relationships in Public Spaces, Berkeley, California: University of California Press; 25-45 Thornton Sarah (1995):Club Cultures, Music, Media and Subcultural Capital Cambrige:Polity Press

Interviews

Alexander interviewed by Franziska Huck on 17.2.2012 in Slide Club, Vienna

Andreas interviewed by Franziska Huck on 15.12.2011 in Slide Club, Vienna

Clara , interviewed by Franziska Huck on 5.12.2012 in Domus Club, Vienna

David interviewed by Franziska Huck on 12.1.2012 in Domus Club, Vienna

Erwin interviewed by Franziska Huck on 9.2.2012 in Slide Club, Vienna

Field diary, written by Franziska Huck from November 2011 to February 2012 in the Domus Club, Mocats Club, Slide Club, Vienna

Fritz interviewed by Franziska Huck on 19.1.2012 in Mocats Club, Vienna

Jenny interviewed by Franziska Huck on 9.2. 2012 in Slide Club, Vienna

Joel interviewed by Franziska Huck on 5.12.2011 in Domus Club, Vienna

Johann interviewed by Franziska Huck on 15.12. 2011 in Slide Club, Vienna

Linda interviewed by Franziska Huck on 11.1. 2012 in Mocats Club, Vienna

Leonhard interviewed by Franziska Huck on February in Domus Club, Vienna

Ludwig interviewed by Franziska Huck on 10. 2. 2012 in Slide Club, Vienna

Laura interviewed by Franziska Huck on 12.12.2012 in Domus Club, Vienna

Magadalena interviewed by Franziska Huck on 11.1.2012 in Mocats Club, Vienna

Markus interviewed by Franziska Huck on 16. 1.2012 in Domus Club, Vienna

Martin interviewed by Franziska Huck on 12. 12. 2012 in Domus Club, Vienna

Max interviewed by Franziska Huck on December 2011 in Slide Club, Vienna 123

Nina interviewed by Franziska Huck on 12.12. 2012 in Domus Club, Vienna

Peter interviewed by Franziska Huck on 7.12. 2011 in Mocats Club, Vienna

Raphael interviewed by Franziska Huck on 18.1.2012 in Mocats Club, Vienna

Sebastian interviewed by Franziska Huck on 7.12.2011 in Mocats Club, Vienna

Stefan interviewed by Franziska Huck on 18.1.2012 in Mocats Club, Vienna

Appendix Abstract I was investigating the club scenes in Vienna from November 2011- February 2012. Here it was crucial to understand why young people tend to feel attracted to the club scenes.There are several issues that should be emphasised. I have taken a look at the restrooms in the clubs, since these were perceived by females as a place in order to speak openly about lovesickness or other issues.Another aspect covered was that people attending in the club scene tend to drift in a reality differing from the daily life.There are visitors in the clubs scenes that search for a short adventure, however there are also those that would like to find a partner. The ones who are searching for a partner often question whether the club scene is the right place to find a partner.Further I investigated how males approached females in the club scenes. Recent literature on clubs is used in order to clarify my own findings, such as Grazian´ s and Rief´s use on clubs gender and identity. One main point of Grazian´s theory is that males support each other in order be successful in approaching females,which corresponds to my findings. Rief on the other hand points out that it is rather difficult to become part of a group in the club scenes.My findings however reveal that this issue depends on the particularities of clubs.The club scene is identified, first and foremost, as an attraction point because here participants have the possibility to communicate with others, open up to others or find a fast sexual enjoyment.

Abstract Ich habe die Wiener Club Szenen im Zeitraum von November 2011- Februar 2012 besucht. Hier war es wichtig zu verstehen weshalb Clubs solch einen Anziehungspunkt bei Jungen Menschen darstellen.Das Badezimmer hat eine wichtige Rolle in der Forschung gespielt, da es oftmals von jungen Frauen aufgesucht wurde um mit anderen Besuchern über Liebesangelgenheiten zu sprechen. Ein weiterer Punkt ist das viele Menschen in eine andere Form der Realität eintauchen sobald sie sich im Club befinden.Es gibt Besucher welche die 124

Clubs besuchen um nach einen kurzen Abenteuer zu suchen, es gibt jedoch auch jene die nach einer Beziehung suchen. Jene Menschen die nach einer Beziehung suchen stellen sich oftmals die Frage ob der Club der richtige Platz sei um einen Partner oder Partnerin zu finden.Weiters habe ich das Verhalten der männlichen Besucher untersucht, um zu ermitteln auf welche Weise sie versuchen Kontakt mit Frauen herzustellen. Es wurden Bücher herangezogen welche sich mit Club Szenen beschäftigten. Hier wollte ich erkennen ob unter anderem Grazians Ergebnisse mit meinen Ergebnissen übereinstimmten. Eine wesentlicher Punkt welcher von Graizian aufgegriffen wird ist das Männer in der Gruppe einander unterstützen um erfolgreich Kontakte mit Frauen zu schließen. Es konnte hier eine Gemeinsamkeit zu meinen Ergebnissen erkannt werde. Das zweite Buch wurde von Silvia Rief verfasst. Silvia Rief hat bei ihrer Club Forschung erwähnt dass es schwierig sei ein Teil einer Gruppe zu werden.Die Ergebnisse meiner Forschung zeigten dass es von der Club Szene abhängig ist ob man einfacher oder schwieriger ein Teil einer Gruppe wird. Der Club kann als Anziehungspunkt gesehen werden da Menschen die Möglichkeit gegeben wird mit anderen Menschen in Kontakt zu treten, ein kurzes Abenteuer zu finden oder eben um von anderen Besuchern gehört zu werden.

125

Lebenslauf

Persönliche Daten:

Name: Franziska Huck Geburtsdatum: 28.1.1987 Geburtsort: Wien Staatsangehörigkeit: Österreich Familienstand: ledig

Ausbildung:

1993-1997 Volksschule 2126 Ladendorf, NÖ 1997-2001 Hauptschule I, 2130 Mistelbach, NÖ 2001-2005 Danube International School: IB und österreichische Matura, Josef- Gall-Gasse 2, 1020 Wien 2005-2006 Universität Wien: Studium der Rechtswissenschaften 2006-2012 Universtität Wien: Studium der Kultur- und Sozialanthropologie

126